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Author
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Topic: Shuttle orbiter selection for Shuttle-Mir missions
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RichieB16
Member Posts: 552
From: Oregon
Registered: Feb 2003
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posted 05-16-2015 11:05 AM
   
I have always wondered about the shuttle selection for the Shuttle-Mir dockings. My assumption is they needed to select a single shuttle to install the docking hardware in... but was their a reason they selected Atlantis for that?I assume that Columbia was not chosen for the same reason as why she never docked with ISS... wasn't she too heavy to make her useful for that? But then, why Atlantis over Discovery and Endeavour? Also, why did they switch to different shuttles for the final two dockings (STS-89 - Endeavour and STS-91 - Discovery)? |
Jim Behling
Member Posts: 1463
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 05-16-2015 03:48 PM
There wasn't an intent to select a single orbiter. The docking system could work in any orbiter and be moved around. Atlantis got the early missions by luck of the draw. That is the way the manifest worked out. There was no requirement for a specific orbiter (except for the issues with Columbia). |
OV-105
Member Posts: 816
From: Ridgecrest, CA
Registered: Sep 2000
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posted 05-16-2015 11:40 PM
Atlantis was at Palmdale for its OMDP so it was the first to be fitted with the docking system. All a matter of timing. |
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 3445
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 05-17-2015 04:17 PM
The way the shuttle schedule worked out, Columbia was scheduled to dock with ISS. Her one - and probably only - docking would have occurred on STS-118, her mission after 107. |
Skylon
Member Posts: 274
From:
Registered: Sep 2010
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posted 05-17-2015 06:59 PM
As noted about Atlantis, it was luck of the draw since based on its OMDP and the time the decision was made to do Shuttle-Mir. Endeavour and Discovery had by the time of STS-89 and 91 been outfitted for ISS flights, with docking systems, and Atlantis was undergoing an OMDP following STS-86. Columbia on STS-118 I recall as not being the optimal choice, but one driven be schedule pressure. Discovery's OMDP completion was delayed necessitating the use of Columbia. |
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