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Author
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Topic: SCA 747 ferry flights orbiter tailcones
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Flying Dutchman
Member Posts: 135
From: Nieuw Vennep
Registered: Jan 2007
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posted March 22, 2008 12:17 PM
   
I was viewing a number of photos and I was wondering if the tailcones used during the shuttle ferry flights are the same ones as they were used during the ALT flights in 1977. And the second thing I saw was that Columbia had more far more black tiles at the top on its tail compared to other shuttles. It's tail differs. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 23493
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted March 22, 2008 12:20 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Flying Dutchman:
It's tail differs.
Columbia's vertical stabilizer was modified in 1984 to install the Shuttle Infrared Leeside Temperature Sensing (SILTS) package. |
OV-105
Member Posts: 527
From: Ridgecrest, CA USA
Registered: Sep 2000
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posted March 22, 2008 08:30 PM
There are two tailcones. The one that they used from the ALT's to now. When Endeavour was rolled out they got the second tailcone. It is a little different because of the drag chute. Modifications were then done to the first tailcone once all of the orbiters had the drag chute. |
Jay Chladek
Member Posts: 1566
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted March 23, 2008 02:46 PM
Columbia always had a few more black tiles then the rest of the orbiter fleet. Robert pretty much covered the reason why it got even more on the stabilizer from its 1985 refit.In addition to the tail cones used for the ferry flights, the foreward RCS and OMS pods can be replaced with dummy units for the shuttle ferry flights to and from Palmdale, CA for ODMP refits. You can usually spot them as they are cleaner then the flight articles and the OMS pods don't have the black tile patches at the front. The dummy RCS piece also has grayish/white "covers" on the RCS ports. |
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