Re: And what about civilian Shuttle casualties?


Jorge R. Frank wrote:
> "snidely" <Snidely.too@xxxxxxxxx> wrote

[...]
> > I would want to pursue applying the repair kit during that on-orbit
> > wait.
>
> That will indeed be the case in the repair scenario, it's just that
you
> don't have the luxury of waiting until the rescue shuttle is ready
before
> you decide whether you trust the repair or not. On flight day 23,
it's
> Decision Time, ready or not.

[re-ordered]
> The damaged shuttle is placed in what
> NASA calls a "Group C+ Powerdown", which allows the stranded crew to
> maximize the duration of consumables they can scavenge from the
shuttle
> while retaining the critical capabilities to undock and deorbit *at
all*.
> Once the shuttle hits the consumables redline (about 23 days), it
*must*
> undock - either with the crew or without it - or it won't be able to
undock
> at all and the rescue shuttle will have no place to dock. In no
scenario
> will the rescue shuttle be ready to launch in 23 days. So if you
commit to
> unmanned flyback, you are also committing to safe haven.

Well, on day 23 you are committed to undocking the shuttle, and if you
are not riding it down, you are committed to safehaven.

My question is, assuming that this happens *after* STS-114[1], and
you've tried the patch and you aren't confident enough in it to ride it
down, wouldn't it be better to try to bring it back via unmanned
flyback than to do a disposal return? Of course you'd want to pick the
flight path that minimized risk to the ground, but even if you have to
dissamble the craft after in landed on Palau[2], but at least you'd get
a chance to examine the damage and patch. And if it is spread out
across the Pacific, then you're no worse off than after a disposal
return.

AIUI, STS-114 will only be testing *application" techniques for
patches. If a later flight is going to try exposure tests, I've missed
it, but I'm not sure how it would be done -- you'd have to have a
non-critical area, so that imperfections in the patch wouldn't turn
into a Bad Day.

[1] The mods for unmanned flyback won't be ready for STS-114 unless
the schedule *really* slips, IIRC from previous postings here --
probably yours, Jorge.

[2] Okay, Guam, but wouldn't ABC get bang-up ratings with the Shuttle
getting to vote someone off the island?

/dps

.

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