The Space Shuttle Program Technologies and Accomplishments
Davide Sivolella The Space Shuttle Program Technologies and Accomplishments
Davide Sivolella Aerospace Engineer Hemel Hempstead United Kingdom SPRINGER PRAXIS BOOKS IN SPACE EXPLORATION Springer Praxis Books ISBN 978-3-319-54944-6 DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-54946-0 ISBN 978-3-319-54946-0 (ebook) Library of Congress Control Number: 2017942940 Springer International Publishing AG 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover design: Jim Wilkie Project Editor: David M. Harland Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Contents Acknowledgements... 1 A Remarkable Flying Machine... 1 The Spaceplane... 1 Space Shuttle 101... 3 Solid Rocket Boosters... 6 External Tank... 10 Orbiter Vehicle... 11 Space Shuttle: What for?... 21 2 Launch Platform... 23 A tale of two upper stages... 23 Payload Assist Module maiden flight... 27 Space Shuttle Inertial Upper Stage debut... 31 Death Star... 39 Gateway to the Solar System... 46 Additional Upper Stages... 49 3 EVA Operations... 54 There was no requirement for EVA... 54 A Wardrobe for the Astronauts... 59 A Tale of Two Spacewalks... 68 EMU Improvements... 73 Human Satellite... 75 4 Learning to Build a Space Station... 84 Introduction... 84 Heavy Payload Lifting... 86 Space Station Hardware Testing... 90 On-Orbit Assembly... 94 Spacewalking Quality Time... 104 ix v
vi Contents 5 Satellite Servicing... 112 Introduction... 112 The First On-Orbit Satellite Servicing... 115 Something that nobody s ever done before... 123 Something we weren t planning on doing... 129 We think we could go up and fix this thing... 132 I m going downstairs to get ready... 136 Threesome Spacewalk... 138 Servicing the Hubble Space Telescope... 142 Conclusions... 151 6 Science Laboratory... 153 From Sortie Can to Sortie Laboratory... 153 European Collaboration... 157 Spacelab Development... 158 Small Payload Carriers... 176 Get Away Specials... 177 Hitchhiker Program... 179 7 Spacelab Stories... 183 An unqualified success... 183 The cheapest experiment that has ever gone into space... 190 The most important scientific mission... 193 The whole crew was put to the test... 202 We called it the ignorosphere... 206 Kind of busy, but very comfortable... 211 8 Space Industries... 215 The prospect of doing something useful for humanity... 215 I wanted to be part of the action... 228 SPACEHAB versus Spacelab... 234 SPACEHAB Missions... 237 A Pioneering Initiative: The Industrial Space Facility... 238 Ultra-Vacuum: The Wake Shield Facility... 242 9 Space Shuttle in Uniform... 250 Military Space Shuttle... 250 The mission was pretty vanilla... 251 The Lost Polar Mission... 252 I wasn t such a hot pilot as I thought... 260 We were tremendous... 260 A Misty Mission... 261 Espionage Deception... 264 A Milkshake in Space... 265 Military Man in Space... 268 Honorable Discharge... 270
Contents vii 10 Something That Nobody Had Ever Done Before... 275 Origins of the Satellite on a Tether... 275 Tethered Satellite System 101... 278 TSS-1 Experiments and Science Objectives... 284 Fundamentals of Space Tethered System Dynamics... 289 The Eventful Flight of STS-46/TSS-1... 299 STS-75/TSS-1R This can t be happening again... 308 11 More Power and Time Needed... 314 Introduction... 314 The Power Extension Package... 315 The 25 kw Power Module... 320 Extended Duration Orbiter... 321 EDO First Flight: STS-50... 324 12 Adding New Capabilities... 328 Night Operations... 328 The conservative thing to do... 330 The potential for additional flexibility in the future... 335 Payload Planning and Integration... 337 13 The Legacy of the Shuttle Program... 340 Introduction... 340 The Failures of the Space Shuttle... 341 The Achievements of the Space Shuttle... 345 Conclusion... 348 About the Author... 349 References... 350 Index... 356
Acknowledgements I have always been an insatiable reader. In my teen years, I used to fantasize that one day I would write a book, possibly on the subject of space exploration. That dream became a reality when in the summer of 2013 Springer-Praxis published To Orbit and Back Again: How the Space Shuttle Flew in Space. Little did I know that a few years later, I would be able to repeat the endeavor. Shortly after having delivered that manuscript, Clive Horwood of Praxis suggested I take up this new project. For this reason, I will always be indebted to him for his confidence and trust. And I can never praise enough space historian David M. Harland, who played an instrumental role in making this book readable and in improving my writing skills. I am also immensely grateful to Maury Solomon and her staff at Springer in New York for assisting me in transforming the original idea into a finished book. Writing a book such as this takes a lot of time, particularly if you have a full-time day job and family. No one knows this better than my wife Monica. Her continuous support and patience, in particular in the final months of writing when I really had to sacrifice a lot of family time, were of paramount value for the success of this project. This book would not have become a reality if it were not for my parents, Pasquale and Maria, who, since I was a young boy, encouraged me to pursue my passion for space exploration. Several friends, close and far, gave me their most heartfelt moral support. I will name Vincenzo Gallo, Brigida Marica Corrado and Giuseppe Pelosi, although there were many more whose kind words of encouragement, approval, and interest I shall always remember. Unless otherwise stated, the illustrations are taken from www.nasa.gov website or associated websites such as www.nasaimages.com, www.spaceflight.nasa.gov and www.ntrs. nasa.gov. As such, they are freely available under NASA terms. For all pictures from other sources, written permission has been obtained for their use in this book. ix