Shayler Linking the Space Shuttle and Space Stations

Early Docking Technologies from Concept to Implementation
1. Auflage 2017
ISBN: 978-3-319-49769-3
Verlag: Springer Nature Switzerland
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 264 Seiten

Reihe: Space Exploration

How could the newly authorized space shuttle help in the U.S. quest to build a large research station in Earth orbit? As a means of transporting goods, the shuttle could help supply the parts to the station. But how would the two entitles be physically linked?
Docking technologies had to constantly evolve as the designs of the early space stations changed. It was hoped the shuttle would make missions to the Russian Salyut and American Skylab stations, but thesewere postponed until the Mir station became available, while plans for getting a new U. S. space station underway were stalled.
In Linking the Space Shuttle and Space Stations, the author delves into the rich history of the Space Shuttle and its connection to these early space stations, culminating in the nine missions to dock the shuttle toMir. By 1998, after nearly three decades of planning and operations, shuttle missions to Mir had resulted in:
• A proven system to link up the space shuttle to a space station• Equipment and hands-on experience in handling tons of materials• An infrastructure to support space station assembly and resupply
Each of these played a pivotal role in developing the skills and procedures crucial to the creation of the later, much larger and far more complex International Space Station, as described in the companionvolume Assembling and Supplying the ISS: The Space Shuttle Fulfills Its Mission.

Dave Shayler has been following the shuttle operational story for over 30 years and in particular aspects of its relationship with space stations. He has presented numerous papers on the topic and has authored series of articles published by the BIS in support of this outreach program and research. This work includes:• 1991: The proposed USSR Salyut and US Shuttle Docking Mission circa 1981 (paper presented at the BIS Soviet Technical Forum 1991; paper published in JBIS 1991)
• 2000: American flights to Mir (Space shuttle) (published in BIS publication History of Mir; paper presented at BIS Soviet Technical Forum)
• 2002: NASA Shuttle missions to ISS (1998-2002) (published in BIS publication From Imagination to Reality: the ISS Volume 1)
• 2005: NASA Shuttle missions to ISS (2002-2005) (published in the BIS publication From Imagination to Reality: the ISS Volume 2)
• Unpublished: NASA Shuttle missions to ISS (2005-2011)He joined the BIS in January 1976 and has participated in numerous activities, programs and projects including chairing meetings, working on committees and contributing to society publications. Dozens of his articles have appeared in BIS publications since 1977. He created Astro Info Service in October 1982 to focus his space writing and research, with lectures and educational outreach activities. Early publications included the periodicals ORBITER (on the Shuttle) and ZENIT (on Soviet activities), and a growing range of biographies on the world's space explorers. In 1990 he co-created the Midland Spaceflight Society and acts as its chairman. His first books were published in 1987 by Ian Allen and Salamander Books and since then over 20 titles have been authored including 13 titles in the Praxis Space Library between 2000 and 2009. He has also contributed to U. S. books and collections on human spaceflight including the three editions of Macmillan's Who's Who in Space edited by Michael Cassutt. In 2008 his authorised biography on Skylab astronaut Jerry Carr was published after 20 years' research. Personal research has been conducted at NASA JSC in Houston and at KSC in Florida, as well as at Rice and Clear Lake Universities and NARA archives in Texas. His research has also allowed him to complete a fascinating and informative visit to Russia in 2003 visiting the Cosmonaut Training Center and other facilities around Moscow.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Shayler, David J.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Contents;5
2;Preface;8
3;Acknowledgements;11
4;Foreword;14
5;Dedication;17
6;Prologue;18
7;1: The Space Shuttle and the Space Station;20
7.1; A PLAN FOR THE FUTURE;20
7.1.1; A Platform to Work From;21
7.2; THE AGE (AND AGING) OF APOLLO;22
7.2.1; The Stark Reality;24
7.2.2; A Space Transportation System;24
7.3; BUILDING A MODULAR SPACE STATION;27
7.3.1; Twin Manipulators;27
7.3.2; Establishing an Economic Orbital Installation;28
8;2: Shuttle and Salyut: A Lost Opportunity;29
8.1; THE PROPOSED SHUTTLE-SALYUT DOCKING MISSION;29
8.1.1; Apollo Soyuz;31
8.1.2; The Salyut Era;34
8.2; THE ‘ORIGINAL’ INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION;36
8.2.1; US Concerns Raised;37
8.2.2; The May 1977 Agreement;39
8.2.3; NASA’s Tentative Expectations;40
8.2.4; Hopes for the Future?;40
8.2.5; The November 1977 Meeting;41
8.2.6; Next Steps;43
8.3; A SOVIET SPACELAB?;43
8.3.1; NASA’s Organization of the Shuttle-Salyut Study Activity;44
8.4; THE DEMISE OF SHUTTLE-SALYUT;44
8.4.1; A Congressional Review in 1982;46
8.5; A RETURN TO SKYLAB?;48
8.5.1; Leaving the Keys Under the Mat;48
8.5.2; Marshall’s Skylab-Shuttle Plans;49
8.5.3; Shuttle-Skylab Phase-II;49
8.5.4; Shuttle-Skylab Phase-III;50
8.5.5; Teleoperator Retrieval System;51
8.5.6; Abandoning Skylab;52
8.6; Notes;53
9;3: The Price of Freedom;55
9.1; NASA’s “all-electric flying machine” 1981–1986;55
9.2; SHUTTLE SUPPORTS SPACE STATION FREEDOM 1984–1992;56
9.2.1; A Fifth Orbiter?;60
9.2.2; Modifying the Orbiter to Support Space Station Freedom;60
9.2.3; Within the Confines;64
9.2.4; Large Platform Assembler – An Orbiter Mounted Configuration;65
9.2.5; Shuttle Design Considerations in the Development of Large Space Structures;66
9.3; AN INDUSTRIAL SPACE FACILITY;69
9.4; FROM A CONCEPT TO A REAL PROGRAM;70
9.5; Summary;71
9.6; Notes;72
10;4: Putting it All Together;73
10.1; FLIGHT PLANNING;73
10.1.1; The Jigsaw Puzzle of Flight Planning;75
10.2; PROCESSING THE HARDWARE;77
10.2.1; KSC Launch Directors;77
10.2.2; Cogs in the Wheel;77
10.3; PREPARING TO FLY;77
10.3.1; Processing the Orbiters;79
10.3.2; Vehicle Assembly Building;83
10.4; CHESS ON A LARGE SCALE;86
10.5; LAUNCH PAD TO SPACE;89
10.5.1; Roll Out;89
10.5.2; Launch Complex 39;91
10.5.3; The Roll Backs;97
10.6; LAUNCH DATE FLUIDITY;98
10.6.1; Postponements, Scrubs and Delays: Shuttle-Mir, 1994–1998;98
10.7; READY TO GO;100
10.8; Notes;100
11;5: The Human Element;101
11.1; RE-LEARNING OLD SKILLS;101
11.2; SHUTTLE CREW TRAINING;102
11.2.1; Crew Designations;102
11.2.2; A Team Effort;104
11.2.3; Shuttle Training: A Brief Overview;106
11.2.4; International Training;108
11.2.5; Support Roles;109
11.3; SHUTTLE-MIR CREWING;109
11.3.1; The Early Assignments;109
11.3.2; First Cosmonauts and Astronauts Named;111
11.3.3; Director Of Operations in Russia;114
11.3.4; First Docking Crew;115
11.3.5; A Return to Mir;116
11.3.6; Extending Shuttle-Mir;118
11.3.7; Wendy Lawrence;119
11.3.8; The Final Crews for Mir;120
11.3.9; The Final Mir Assignments;122
11.4; BY THE NUMBERS;123
11.4.1; Shuttle-Mir;123
11.5; Notes;124
12;6: Getting There;125
12.1; FROM PAD TO ORBIT;125
12.1.1; Preparing for Orbital Operations;125
12.2; GROUND CONTROL;127
12.2.1; Director of Operations in Russia;127
12.2.2; Mission Control Houston, Shuttle-Mir;128
12.3; THE SHUTTLE RENDEZVOUS PROFILE;130
12.3.1; Skills Based on History;130
12.4; DEVELOPMENT OF SHUTTLE RENDEZVOUS;131
12.4.1; On Board Systems;133
12.4.2; The Way to Go;134
12.4.3; Putting Theory into Practice;135
12.5; SHUTTLE DOCKING PROSPECTS AND CAPABILITY;138
12.5.1; Methods of Approach;138
12.5.2; Docking Approaches;139
12.5.3; Plume Control;139
12.5.4; SNIP or SNOOPy?;139
12.5.5; The Corridor;139
12.6; ORBITER DOCKING SYSTEM;139
12.6.1; Rockwell’s Docking Modes;140
12.6.2; Phase C Docking Concepts;140
12.6.3; Shuttle at Mir;141
12.7; SHUTTLE DOCKING PROFILE;142
12.7.1; Preparation;144
12.7.2; Docking;144
12.7.3; What if a Docking had Failed?;146
12.7.4; Operational Experiences;146
12.7.5; Plume Protection;148
12.8; EXPERIENCES RECALLED;150
12.8.1; Comparing the Target;152
12.9; Notes;153
13;7: Shuttle-Mir 1994–1998;155
13.1; A Cosmonaut on Shuttle, an Astronaut on Mir;156
13.2; THE SHUTTLE-MIR JOINT US-RUSSIAN MISSIONS;157
13.2.1; Shuttle-Mir Summary;165
13.3; LESSONS FROM SHUTTLE-MIR;167
13.4; Notes;170
14;8: The Docked Phase;171
14.1; WELCOME ABOARD;171
14.2; RMS ACTIVITIES DURING SHUTTLE-MIR;172
14.2.1; STS-74 RMS Activities;173
14.2.1.1; ASVS Checkout;174
14.2.2; STS-91 RMS Activities;176
14.3; SHUTTLE-BASED EVA AT MIR;177
14.3.1; STS-76 EVA at Mir;178
14.3.2; STS-86 EVA at Mir;180
14.4; EXPERIMENTS AND OUTREACH;181
14.4.1; Ongoing Research;181
14.5; Notes;187
15;9: Crew Transfers and Loadmasters;188
15.1; THE CARRIERS;189
15.1.1; Pressurized Modules;190
15.1.2; Unpressurized Carriers;194
15.2; THE STOWAGE FACILITIES;195
15.2.1; Maintaining the Center of Mass;201
15.3; A MOVING EXPERIENCE;202
15.3.1; Plan Against Reality;202
15.3.2; Working with Spacehab;207
15.4; Notes;210
16;10: Getting Back;211
16.1; LEAVING;211
16.1.1; Off to the Movies;213
16.2; UNDOCKING THE SHUTTLE;214
16.2.1; Fly-Around Maneuver;215
16.2.2; Undocking from Mir;216
16.2.3; Those Precious Final Orbits;216
16.3; RECUMBENT SEATING;217
16.3.1; Landing Day Minus One;219
16.4; COMING HOME;220
16.5; SUMMARY;226
16.6; Notes;227
17;Closing Comments;228
18; Afterword;231
19;Abbreviations;233
20; Appendix 1: Shuttle-Mir Crewmembers 1994–1998;237
21; Appendix 2: Space Shuttle/Space Station Freedom Assembly Manifests 1986–1993;239
21.1;STS Space Shuttle Payload Flight Assignments, October 3, 1986;239
21.2; Payload Flight Assignments: NASA Mixed Fleet, October 22, 1987;240
21.2.1;Industrial Space Facility (ISF);240
21.2.2; Space Station (SS);240
21.3; Payload Flight Assignments: NASA Mixed Fleet, March 1988;241
21.3.1;Industrial Space Facility (ISF);241
21.3.2; Space Station (SS);242
21.4; Payload Flight Assignments: NASA Mixed Fleet, January 1989;242
21.4.1;Industrial Space Facility (ISF);242
21.4.2; Space Station (SS);243
21.5; Payload Flight Assignments: NASA Mixed Fleet, June 1989;243
21.5.1;Industrial Space Facility (ISF);243
21.5.2; Space Station Freedom (SSF) Phase-I;244
21.6; Payload Flight Assignments: NASA Mixed Fleet, January 1990;244
21.6.1;Industrial Space Facility (ISF);244
21.6.2; Space Station Freedom;245
21.7; Payload Flight Assignments: NASA Mixed Fleet, December 1990;246
21.7.1;Industrial Space Facility (ISF);246
21.7.2; Space Station Freedom;246
21.8; Payload Flight Assignments: NASA Mixed Fleet, February 1991;247
21.8.1;Industrial Space Facility (ISF);247
21.8.2; Space Station Freedom;247
21.9; Payload Flight Assignments: NASA Mixed Fleet, August 1991;248
21.9.1;Industrial Space Facility (ISF);248
21.9.2; Space Station Freedom;248
21.10; Payload Flight Assignments: NASA Mixed Fleet, January 1992;249
21.10.1;Industrial Space Facility (ISF);249
21.10.2; Space Station Freedom;249
21.11; Payload Flight Assignments: NASA Mixed Fleet, April 1993;250
21.11.1;Industrial Space Facility (ISF);250
21.11.2; Space Station Freedom;250
22; Bibliography;252
22.1;Interviews;252
22.2; Periodicals;253
22.3; Newspapers;253
22.4; NASA Publications;253
22.5; Media Publications;254
22.6; British Interplanetary Society Books and Articles;254
22.7; Springer-Praxis Series in Space Exploration;254
22.8; Other Books;255
23; About the Author;256
24; Other Works by the Author;258
25;Index;260