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Author Topic:   Shuttle mission specialist seat assignments
ashot
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Posts: 27
From:
Registered: Mar 2010

posted 10-20-2010 02:01 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for ashot     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Does someone know why mission specialist 1 (MS1) and MS3 usually swap seats at launch and landing seating configurations? I understand that only MS2 is involved in launch/landing operations, but still is there any other reason MS1 and MS3 swap seats other than "fair share of sightseeing" from the flight deck?

Tom
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Posts: 1597
From: New York
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 10-20-2010 09:09 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Tom   Click Here to Email Tom     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I remember reading an interview in which an astronaut did mention the seating positions on the flight and mid deck.

You are right, sometimes two crew members will change from the MS 1 seat to the mid deck and vice versa, in order to give a crew member who has never had an opportunity to ride on the flight deck an opportunity to do so.

Tom
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Posts: 1597
From: New York
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 10-21-2010 06:36 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Tom   Click Here to Email Tom     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The four person STS-5 crew flew with three on the flight deck.

OV-105
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Posts: 816
From: Ridgecrest, CA
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 10-21-2010 09:42 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for OV-105   Click Here to Email OV-105     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Tom:
The four person STS-5 crew flew with three on the flight deck.
That was because Columbia still had the ejection seats and there was not enough room on the flight deck for the second MS seat. Challenger's flight deck on STS-6 had the same area as the rest of the fleet.

LM-12
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Posts: 3208
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010

posted 12-01-2015 11:31 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for LM-12     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The flight deck seat #3 position was empty during re-entry and landing on some of the flights. STS-108 and STS-113 are two examples: three crewmembers on the flight deck and four on the mid-deck for landing.

Is it true that Story Musgrave stood up behind the CDR seat during re-entry and landing on STS-80, his last shuttle flight?

india-mike
Member

Posts: 76
From: Linnich, Northrine Westfalia, Germany
Registered: Jan 2012

posted 12-01-2015 02:38 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for india-mike   Click Here to Email india-mike     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by LM-12:
Is it true that Story Musgrave stood up behind the CDR seat during re-entry and landing on STS-80, his last shuttle flight?
This is correct. According to Tom Jones, who also flew as MS on STS-80, Story really made his reentry in a standing position on the flight deck. I just don't remember exactly were I read it. Maybe it was in "Skywalking" by Tom Jones or "The Way of Water" by Anne Lennehan.

By the way, both books are worth reading.

Jim Behling
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Posts: 1463
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010

posted 12-01-2015 02:43 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jim Behling   Click Here to Email Jim Behling     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by LM-12:
The flight deck seat #3 position was empty during re-entry and landing on some of the flights.
Because one MS was on the mid deck to tend to the returning expedition crew members and to man the side hatch door for emergencies such bailout or off runway landings. Expedition crew members might have been to weak to perform such skills. Additionally, the time between actual training and the need to use such skills would be months for expedition crew members vs weeks for shuttle crew members

And yes, to the Story story. I believe the shuttle only experiences 1.5 g for reentry so not a real big deal.

LM-12
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Posts: 3208
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010

posted 12-01-2015 03:38 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for LM-12     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Interestingly, STS-80 was the longest shuttle flight at 17.5 days.

Jim Behling
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Posts: 1463
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010

posted 12-01-2015 06:51 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jim Behling   Click Here to Email Jim Behling     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by LM-12:
Interestingly, STS-80 was the longest shuttle flight at 17.5 days.
That is less than 20% of time for expedition crews.

Cozmosis22
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Posts: 968
From: Texas * Earth
Registered: Apr 2011

posted 12-03-2015 08:36 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Cozmosis22     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by LM-12:
Interestingly, STS-80 was the longest shuttle flight at 17.5 days.
Hurrah for STS-80. Thanks for the space exploration factoid.

LM-12
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Posts: 3208
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010

posted 12-03-2015 01:32 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for LM-12     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The three Expedition 2 crewmembers were by themselves on the mid-deck when STS-105 landed in August 2001.

DeepSea
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Posts: 68
From:
Registered: Jun 2014

posted 12-05-2015 08:54 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for DeepSea     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Bizarre. I had literally just logged onto the forum to ask this same question!
quote:
Originally posted by LM-12:
Is it true that Story Musgrave stood up behind the CDR seat during re-entry and landing on STS-80, his last shuttle flight?
I believe Mike Mullane did something similar on STS-27, having told Hoot Gibson that he would return to his seat nearer to the landing but eventually leaving it too late and ending the mission sitting on the flight deck floor.

LM-12
Member

Posts: 3208
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010

posted 12-05-2015 11:08 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for LM-12     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That flight (STS-27) was the DoD mission with a lot of orbiter tile damage that the crew was aware of.

This STS-105 in-flight photo of Susan Helms shows how the mid-deck seats were positioned for re-entry and landing. The Expedition 2 crew was resting on their backs for the trip home. Other returning expeditions probably did the same thing.

Skylon
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Posts: 274
From:
Registered: Sep 2010

posted 12-06-2015 07:00 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Skylon     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
In "Riding Rockets" Mullane makes rather clear he stayed on the flight deck, until G-forces started to build up.

He does however go into a lot of detail about how much he hated being on the mid-deck due to its lack of windows, and the horrific thoughts he had about the possible experience that the STS 51-L crew seated on the mid-deck would have had were they conscious. He stated that if there were a disaster before bailout was possible, he would do everything he could to get back to the flight deck and at least die looking out a window.

LM-12
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Posts: 3208
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010

posted 12-06-2015 07:22 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for LM-12     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
You can see the STS-27 crew, including Mike Mullane, suited up on the flight deck for re-entry at around 11:20 into this post-flight video presentation.

DeepSea
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Posts: 68
From:
Registered: Jun 2014

posted 12-07-2015 08:55 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for DeepSea     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Skylon:
In "Riding Rockets" Mullane makes rather clear he stayed on the flight deck, until G-forces started to build up.
It's admittedly been a while since I last read it, but my recollection was that he ultimately left it too late and the forces were too strong for him to descend the ladder, thus completing the flight sitting on the flight deck floor?

LM-12
Member

Posts: 3208
From: Ontario, Canada
Registered: Oct 2010

posted 12-07-2015 09:37 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for LM-12     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Vladimir Titov was seated on the flight deck of Atlantis for the launch of STS-86 in September 1997. He is the only cosmonaut who sat on the flight deck for a shuttle launch. No cosmonaut sat on the flight deck for a shuttle landing.

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