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#260
by
DaveS
on 18 May, 2007 22:39
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anik - 19/5/2007 12:26 AM
OBSS will be stored on the Orbital Support Equipment (OSE), which will be installed onto S1 truss during STS-118 (13A.1)...
Any images of the OSE?
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#261
by
DaveS
on 19 May, 2007 20:39
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Does anyone which serial number the original pre-107 STS-114 ET had? And has it been flown or is it awaiting it's flight?
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#262
by
shuttlefan
on 21 May, 2007 22:24
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With the climate around the world changing so drastically in recent years, has NASA ever thought about what a snowfall would do to the shuttle sitting out on the pad? I understand the possibility is next to none, but just hypothetically if KSC were to get snow while the shuttle was on the pad, would it render the vehicle unflyable? :bleh:
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#263
by
MKremer
on 21 May, 2007 22:33
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Snowfall, no. It'd be more likely to be freezing rain or sleet (either of which would be much worse because of lots more ice buildup over both the Shuttle and pad structures).
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#264
by
DaveS
on 21 May, 2007 23:16
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MKremer - 22/5/2007 12:33 AM
Snowfall, no. It'd be more likely to be freezing rain or sleet (either of which would be much worse because of lots more ice buildup over both the Shuttle and pad structures).
Have actually happened. Remember 51L? Ice everywhere. Foot long icicles on the FSS and RSS.
The Shuttle has heaters. Also gets pretty hot during ascent.
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#265
by
Paul Howard
on 23 May, 2007 23:29
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Shuttle birthdays question. I see references to how old each orbiter is, but when did they determine when they were 'born'? Completition at Palmdale, or arrival at KSC? Basically, what are the birthdays of each orbiter?
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#266
by
MKremer
on 25 May, 2007 00:23
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I believe it's the 'official' rollout date.
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#267
by
brahmanknight
on 26 May, 2007 00:18
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Does anyone know what kind of temperatures are experienced on the launchpad during a shuttle launch?
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#268
by
mkirk
on 26 May, 2007 14:59
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brahmanknight - 25/5/2007 7:18 PM
Does anyone know what kind of temperatures are experienced on the launchpad during a shuttle launch?
Well the exhaust temperature of the solid rocket boosters is about 5,600 degrees Fahrenheit and the temperature of the space shuttle main engine exhaust is around 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Yes the SSMEs burn hotter than the SRBs.
Mark Kirkman
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#269
by
Mark Dave
on 26 May, 2007 16:12
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Yep, I heard the SMEs burn beyond the boiling point of iron.
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#270
by
shuttlefan
on 26 May, 2007 18:06
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Why don't we see air views of the shuttle launches and landings, like in the early days of the program?
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#271
by
rdale
on 26 May, 2007 21:43
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We do -- check L2 for the video from the WB planes.
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#272
by
Jim
on 26 May, 2007 23:00
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shuttlefan - 26/5/2007 2:06 PM
Why don't we see air views of the shuttle launches and landings, like in the early days of the program?
Chase planes aren't used anymore
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#273
by
astrobrian
on 27 May, 2007 05:42
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The chase planes are not, but why then couldn't the STA be equipped with cameras?
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#274
by
Austin
on 27 May, 2007 06:50
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Helicopters have also provided nice launch video in the past. There are so many camera views now available, but only little more than 120 seconds or so to toggle between them. Although unrelated to planes, I still love the view of the Florida coastline dropping away courtesy of the liquid oxygen feed line camera. We had a particularly nice view of this on STS 112, which I believe was the first launch during which this was used. One rarely provided view I would like to see again is video from behind the shuttle, so that at liftoff the SRB exhaust plume comes at you. Holding this camera angle through the completion of the roll maneuver provides a very nice view of a 51.6 or 57 degree inclination launch plane. Maybe one day we'll have our own TIVO-inspired control and be able to toggle between any launch view we want. Wouldn't that be nice?
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#275
by
psloss
on 27 May, 2007 11:36
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astrobrian - 27/5/2007 1:42 AM
The chase planes are not, but why then couldn't the STA be equipped with cameras?
They probably could -- a camera operator would be a good thing to include, also -- but based on what has been said in the past, cameras don't tend to be used solely to get good pictures. If there aren't any programmatic requirements for it, then it probably looks like a "cost" to the program without any direct or tangible benefits. They stopped flying chase planes very early -- first Spacelab landing, first KSC landing.
The orbiter doesn't have any running lights, so low-light footage would require special equipment.
As Rob noted, though, the WB-57 has been up there in the RTF timeframe and I don't think the entry footage from STS-121 has been publicly released.
Austin - 27/5/2007 2:50 AM
Although unrelated to planes, I still love the view of the Florida coastline dropping away courtesy of the liquid oxygen feed line camera. We had a particularly nice view of this on STS 112, which I believe was the first launch during which this was used.
The camera on the STS-112 tank was mounted in a different location than the current LO2 feedline fairing (LO2 cable tray cover / STA 718):
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=6516It had a broader view of the vehicle and surroundings during first stage, but the view was mostly fouled by the right SRB sep motor firing. (I believe that was part of the motivation for relocating the camera for RTF.)
Note that in the STS-112 case, it would be interesting to see what programmatic plans there were for reflight, but the press asked about that at the time and I believe Mr. Dittemore responded that there were no definite plans on when the ET camera would fly again.
Personally, I think the rocket cam views from past Delta launches were more spectacular views of Florida -- the Mars Odyssey launch was on a really clear day in the spring of 2001 and that view from the Delta second stage was spectacular. (I believe someone copied that video over to YouTube -- without asking, of course. But in case anyone wants to see it, it's there.)
Ecliptic Enterprises has excerpts of all of these:
http://www.eclipticenterprises.com/gallery_rocketcam.php
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#276
by
Austin
on 27 May, 2007 16:01
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psloss - 27/5/2007 4:36 AM
The camera on the STS-112 tank was mounted in a different location than the current LO2 feedline fairing (LO2 cable tray cover / STA 718):
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=6516
It had a broader view of the vehicle and surroundings during first stage, but the view was mostly fouled by the right SRB sep motor firing. (I believe that was part of the motivation for relocating the camera for RTF.)
I remember this. There was a great deal of anticipation of what the SRB staging would look like from that camera, only to have the view obscured as the SRBs separated.
Personally, I think the rocket cam views from past Delta launches were more spectacular views of Florida -- the Mars Odyssey launch was on a really clear day in the spring of 2001 and that view from the Delta second stage was spectacular. (I believe someone copied that video over to YouTube -- without asking, of course. But in case anyone wants to see it, it's there.)
Ecliptic Enterprises has excerpts of all of these:
http://www.eclipticenterprises.com/gallery_rocketcam.php
Thanks for the link -- I'll check it out!
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#277
by
psloss
on 27 May, 2007 16:51
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Austin - 27/5/2007 12:01 PM
I remember this. There was a great deal of anticipation of what the SRB staging would look like from that camera, only to have the view obscured as the SRBs separated.
Yeah -- NTV ran some b-roll after the camera was tested on the pad on rollout day; since you could see at least one of the sep motors in the view, it was something I remember that was a question before launch.
(Attached a cap from a test done the night before launch.)
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#278
by
DaveS
on 27 May, 2007 17:05
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psloss - 27/5/2007 6:51 PM
Yeah -- NTV ran some b-roll after the camera was tested on the pad on rollout day; since you could see at least one of the sep motors in the view
That's not one of the BSMs. It's one of the pitot tubes. The upper BSMs have a grey appearance, the pitot tubes are black.
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#279
by
psloss
on 27 May, 2007 17:14
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DaveS - 27/5/2007 1:05 PM
That's not one of the BSMs. It's one of the pitot tubes. The upper BSMs have a grey appearance, the pitot tubes are black.
I stand corrected -- you're right, the motors are out of the field of view.
(We were curious about fogging from the sep motors at the time, though, and I remember wondering about it after the post-rollout test video was shown on NTV.)