Re: Shuttle Flights Halted

On Dec 22, 12:32 am, Sylvia Else <syl...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
dumpst...@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
"The space shuttle fleet is grounded until technicians
find and fix a vexing problem with engine cutoff (ECO)
sensors--a component that NASA now realizes has
likely never worked throughout the 26-year history of
the shuttle program."

See:

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=awst....

I wonder how many other systems on the shuttle have,
without NASA knowing it, never been functional.

If there were a leak in the external tank, then the mass of the vehicle
would be falling faster than it should. This would mean that the vehicle
would be accelerating faster than predicted, which is something that
should be detectable.

Sylvia.

Yes, there are generally multiple sources for any
type of information. It seems that the Shuttle--
and perhaps space systems, in general, are
unnecessarily overly complex, with too much
dependency on any one item.

In our F8F Bearcat squadron (1947), we had
24 aircraft and no spares. On frequent occasions,
we would line up all 24 on the mat at North Island
and take off in a "scouting line." With a left turn
over Pt. Loma, we would have 24 aircraft in
formation of six divisions of 4 aircraft each. I
can never recall not being able to count on all
24 aircraft when we wanted to use this procedure.
Sure, the aircraft were much simpler, and we
sometimes flew without all systems operative.
But that is my point.

A space transport system should be far more
robust than current launch systems. A big step
in this direction is to design the operations and
system to avoid hand-wringing crucial situations
--such as engine-out abort on takeoff. IMO,
this is a basic, step-1 requirement that had
generally been ignored in all launch systems
built to date.

With GPS and other on-board capabilities, I
view controllers on the ground as an extra--
probably valuable--additional capability, but
not a necessity. Horizontal takeoff is not
only an advantage for engine-out abort, but
it also makes range safety somewhat less
critical, because the space transport can be
clear of the beach and out to sea somewhat
before gaining a lot of altitude high over the
launch complex. It seems to me that a lot
or problems can be avoided by getting away
from our current launch-vehicle mindset.

Len
.

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