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Author
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Topic: NASA removes parts from retiring space shuttles
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APG85
Member Posts: 306
From:
Registered: Jan 2008
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posted 06-10-2011 07:30 PM
  
Interesting article from The New York Times on the preparation of the shuttles and the amount of parts being removed from them... As the agency gets its space shuttles ready to be shipped out to museums, it will not be sending them off lock, stock and barrel. The crews doing the prep work have been flooded with requests to squirrel away parts of the spacecraft for analysis. Valves, flight-control instruments, even the tires and windows — little is safe from the clutches of NASA engineers."I've got a list of hundreds of items that have to come off the ship," said Stephanie S. Stilson, who is directing the preparation of the shuttle Discovery for delivery to the Smithsonian Institution next year in what NASA calls its "transition and retirement" program. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-10-2011 07:32 PM
This topic was also touched on in this cS article. Not all the components to be removed from Discovery will be set aside for study; some will be saved to be reused in the next generation of U.S. spacecraft."Some of that plan is evolved [into] not so much forensics but hardware that we want to carry to the next vehicle as that next evolution of designs come forward," said [shuttle launch integration manager Mike] Moses. |
Cozmosis22
Member Posts: 968
From: Texas * Earth
Registered: Apr 2011
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posted 06-11-2011 03:15 PM
Surely they will they pull the solar arrays off the cargo bay doors. Guess they will remove the main engines and OMS pods? When they get to their final resting places they will have three huge plastic rocket nozzles? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-11-2011 04:18 PM
Those aren't solar arrays; they are radiators, and there's been no indication they will be removed.The main engines (SSMEs) and OMS pods will be removed; the SSMEs will be replaced with mockups built from real but older/outdated engine parts. The OMS pods will be reinstalled but without their internal hazardous tanks and plumbing. |
APG85
Member Posts: 306
From:
Registered: Jan 2008
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posted 06-11-2011 04:39 PM
Ideally, I'd like to see them displayed completely intact (except for the hazardous stuff) with all of the same equipment that was installed during their final flights. I guess I feel about these vehicles as I do about The Spirit of St. Louis. Each and every part is unique and historical and the best way to preserve history is as a time capsule... |
DC10LuxuryLiner
unregistered
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posted 06-11-2011 06:53 PM
How fantastic would it be to see one of the orbiters displayed in launch configuration complete with SRBs and ET attached? I'd think the only place with the room for that would be at KSC... |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-11-2011 07:03 PM
A full space shuttle "stack," displayed at an angle rather than vertical, can be seen at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The orbiter, OV-098 "Pathfinder," is a steel and wood mockup that was built for fit checks. |
Spaceguy5
Member Posts: 427
From: Pampa, TX, US
Registered: May 2011
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posted 06-11-2011 10:01 PM
quote:
Originally posted by APG85:
Each and every part is unique and historical and the best way to preserve history is as a time capsule...
My thoughts exactly. I'm very, very glad that the KSCVC is planning to display Atlantis in flight configuration -- the more of the Orbiter that the public gets to see, the more history that will be shared. |
dogcrew5369
Member Posts: 750
From: Statesville, NC
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 06-12-2011 08:25 PM
Maybe down the road some of the parts taken off the orbiters will eventually be returned to the museums and reinstalled. When they're not needed they might as well be put back. |
Spaceguy5
Member Posts: 427
From: Pampa, TX, US
Registered: May 2011
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posted 06-12-2011 08:36 PM
Or perhaps at the very least, displayed separately. Either would be better than scrapped. |
APG85
Member Posts: 306
From:
Registered: Jan 2008
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posted 06-13-2011 06:07 AM
How awful would it be to open the cockpit door on the Spirit of St. Louis and find that the instrument panel, yoke and pilot's seat is long gone? For me it's the same principle with the shuttles. I had always hoped Enterprise would have been put back to her flight configuration days with a outfitted flight deck again... restored. Time will tell I suppose... |
GACspaceguy
Member Posts: 2475
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 06-13-2011 06:55 AM
quote:
Originally posted by APG85:
How awful would it be to open the cockpit door on the Spirit of St. Louis and find that the instrument panel, yoke and pilot's seat is long gone?
If I could do that, yes it would be awful. But as Joe/Jill public I can not, therefore take it out and make it a stand alone display to show the young folks that it was done without a GPS. |
astroborg
Member Posts: 200
From: Woodbridge, VA, USA
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 06-14-2011 02:02 PM
I don't understand why they need to remove the SSMEs. Anyone care to shed some light on this? It's not like they'll be connected to an ET (which would be empty anyway). |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-14-2011 02:28 PM
They are removing the main engines so that they may be reused for the new heavy-lift vehicle. As currently planned, the Space Launch System (SLS) will use five SSMEs as expendable engines for its first stage (once the shuttle supply is depleted, they will migrate to an updated version of the SSME). |
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 3445
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 06-14-2011 02:36 PM
quote:
Originally posted by APG85:
I had always hoped Enterprise would have been put back to her flight configuration days with a outfitted flight deck again... restored. Time will tell I suppose...
Except parts of Enterprise were used in the flight orbiters. I had heard that one part was used for Columbia's first flight. Such swapping of parts may be regrettable but was common. Wasn't there discussion here about a tile or part that was used on some of Challenger's first flights, then used on Atlantis before being scrapped? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-14-2011 02:44 PM
Challenger's body flap was installed on Atlantis for the latter's maiden mission and all subsequent flights (Challenger was given a new body flap). |
Skylon
Member Posts: 274
From:
Registered: Sep 2010
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posted 06-14-2011 04:21 PM
quote:
Originally posted by APG85:
How awful would it be to open the cockpit door on the Spirit of St. Louis and find that the instrument panel, yoke and pilot's seat is long gone? For me it's the same principle with the shuttles.
I see where NASA is going with this though. The orbiters are the only ones of their kind to endure the stresses of launch and re-entry so many times, as well as operating in space. So long as the removal of parts is carefully done, I have no problem with this. Especially if something useful is gleamed from the work. I'd consider it a greater crime to not touch anything in the name of "history". Let the engineers learn what they can, while not engaging in full up vandalism.
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MrSpace86
Member Posts: 1618
From: Gardner, KS, USA
Registered: Feb 2003
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posted 06-14-2011 04:30 PM
The SSMEs are also really heavy. I don't think they serve no real purpose in being displayed with the orbiter. I think it's wrong that they will be treated as expendable engines in the new vehicle though. I don't see why they don't just build new ones.As for the cockpit of Enterprise, I am still in the hunt to see if there are pictures of the cockpit in it's current configuration. Scott Parazynski posted a photo of him infront of Enterprise not long ago and you could clearly see that the main hatch was open!! So if you stood at the right angle, you could most likely catch a small glimpse of the inside. Returning to the SSME subject, think about the Wright Flyer at NASM. Most of it is not even original anymore; the propellers, the cloth, most of it was damaged and has landed in the hands of collectors. I am unsure, but I also think the engine that is displayed on it is not the original. Eventually, maybe even the orbiters will suffer that fate  |
Jay Chladek
Member Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 06-14-2011 05:12 PM
I think a large part of the orbiters will stay original, at least externally. The stuff that is being pulled off for analysis is internal and they can't remove too many items or there might be some problems with transporting two of the three orbiters via 747 to their final museum sites (Endeavour especially since it has to go to the left coast). I am in agreement that these vehicles should continue to be used for engineers to learn what they can to help design the next space vehicle as no other space vehicle out there has racked up the flight hours that shuttle has in the environments it has been used in.The engines are a bit of a questionmark. I don't entirely believe going with SSMEs for a new rocket is exactly the way to go as these engines were tooled up specifically with servicing and re-use in mind. It was a concern I had with Ares and I was glad when NASA got away from that to go with better off the shelf alternatives. Trying to come up with an SSME based design that is single use only (except for some test firings) doesn't make as much sense either since so much redesign likely has to take place that the entire engine will end up so different that it has to be recertified as something else. As such, why fly old SSMEs until they are gone when the new engines will likely be different. Why not go full bore and come up with a new design from day one? When all is said and done though, there will likely be enough engines left over, or at least engine bells, to put on the museum display shuttles. Some of those items at least need to be preserved for future study. |
dogcrew5369
Member Posts: 750
From: Statesville, NC
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 06-17-2011 03:10 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Jay Chladek:
When all is said and done though, there will likely be enough engines left over, or at least engine bells, to put on the museum display shuttles.
I'm hoping there will be enough material on hand to be at least loaned out to at least one science type museum in every state so everyone can have access to flown hardware. We have the Discovery Place hands-on museum in Charlotte. I'd love to see an SSME or anything displayed there someday. Many people are not able to make it to LA, KSC or DC, but they can visit their local museums. Just my thought. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-17-2011 03:57 PM
NASA is already making available shuttle hardware to all U.S. museums and educational institutions for the asking. With more than enough to go around, if your local museum doesn't get anything, it is more likely a situation of their not applying. |
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