The Space Shuttle a t Work

NASA SP-432
NASA EP-156

The
Space Shuttie

Howard Allaway
W i t h the f i r s orbital flight of the Space Shuttle, the curtain rises on an era that
will shape U.S. space exploration for the next decade, and perhaps for the
remaindei of the century. Colrinzhilr and her sister ships will be far more than
odd-looking heavy-lift launch vehicles, though they will be that. Each Space
Shuttle will be an element in a total transportation system linking Earth with
space: vehicles, ground facilities, a communications net. trained crews, established
freight rates and flight schedules-and the prospect of numerous important and
exciting tasks to be done.
Colruizhia will be as different from previous one-use space vehicles as an ocean
freighter differs from the Clerrizoizt. Although the Space Shuttle has been a long
time in development and won’t be workadav for several years. it will transform
space travel. W e will go into space not just to meet the challenge of exploration
but to do many useful and productive jobs, at reduced cost, returning again and
again. We are initiating an era cf “routine utilization” of space, and it signifies a
new epoch in the history of the planet.
As the Space Shuttle first ascends above the atmosphere, it is fitting to describe
the new space transportation system: how it came to be, why it is designed the
way it is, what we expect of it, how it may grow. This book is such a description.
All new technologies can be expected to undergo change and adaptation. It is
natural for an endeavor as revolutionary as the Space Shattle to develop in
different and unforeseen ways. For this reason, an account of the initial expecta-
tions for this remarkable venture should have value. I commend the following
narrative that describes how the United States plans to make space an extension
of life on the Earth’s surface.

June 1079
ADLAIE. STEVENSON
Cbairtiim,Srihcoriimrzittee oti
Scieiice, Techtiology aiid Splrce
Uiiited Stdtr.r Senate
1 . A Week's Work .................................................. 1
2. The Uses of Space ................................................ 11
3 . More. Better. Cheaper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4 . What Shaped the Design ............................................ 29
5 . From Earth to Orbit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
6. The Amazing Orbiter .............................................. 11
7. At Work Aloft ................................................... 51
8. Airline to Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
9. Plans, Possibilities. and Dreams ....................................... 65
Acknowledgments ................................................. 73
Index ...........................................................7.4
I the norlti from thc Iaunch site, re-
 N CONTRAST TO THE ROUTINE TWO-WAY TRAFFIC made 11
I passible by the Shuttle, every paylad sent into orbit for the
tint ma decades of the space era-cvery bug, plant, and ani-
mal; every m n , woman (one, a Russian). and automated
laboratory-de on the now of i\ one-trip rocket that was

2. discarded after a working lifetime m a s u r d in minutes. HOW-

ever coatly, those pioneering venturn into space sent back
startling news of the universe and brought countless chan.ges
The Uses for the bettcr in the ways \vc live: changes in the economy, in
health and safety, in science and technology, in education, in

of Space the promtion and use of nutuml resources, in national defense

and international coopccrtion.
The tirst was a revolution in communicaiion.
In the middle of the night of July 10. 1962, alevision relay
scations at Goonhilly Downs. Cornwall. and Plcumeur-Bodou,
.I
Brittany. picked up bl:ick-and-\vIrite picture of an Amcrican
Hag flapping in the breeze to the ;iccompaniment of the S n r
Spnglcd Rinnet. The progrim was a demonstration being
transniittd skyward from a huge horn-shaped antenna in
hkiinc to r glistening new Lirth s,itrllite, Tclsmr 1. and down
to a receiving dish in New Jcmy for distribution to U.S.view-
ers. Though not intended, the signal also WAS bcing bouncrd
from Telstrr .icrosJ thc Atlantic to England and Frrnce.
Nest day the cxpcrimcnt;il s.itellitc rclayd the first TV pic-
turcs \vcst\s;ird from Europe. black-d-whites from both
Fr.incc and Engl.ind. iind within ;iwcrk the tint in color. Bc-
fore the month WJS out. mass .iudicnces on both sides of the
Atl.intic witchcd vith I W C the tirst intcrn;ition;il cschiinge of
live TV.Viewers in Eiiropc saw rhc. S r m r of I.it#.rty. a biisc-
h;dl p m c h*t\vcun tlic Pliillics and tlic Cubs in Chicap),. ;I
prcw confcrcncc b) PrcsiJcnr Kennedy. butt.ilo roaminp thc
South 1likot.i phins, tlic Mormon T.ibcrn.iclc Choir singing
from Mount Hushniorc. Americms. in turn. got glimpses of
Big Ikn from one of 1.ondon’s l’lwiies hridkvs. the Coliseum
in Rome. the Louvrc in Y.iris. the Sisrinc Ch.ipcl in V;itic;iti
City, Sicili.in tislicrmcn rru.ting their nets. rcindwr roaming
nclr tlrc Arctic Circle in Nonviiy.
Tlrc troublc \vir11 Tclst,ir (;ind its c,irly successors) was rhiit
it could be u s d only \vhen its rchtivcly lo\v-dtitude orbit of
9-45 by 5600 kilornctcrs O H 0 by 3 5 0 0 miles) brouRht it
within rmge of b ot
h US..ind Europc,in ground sutions for P
fcw minutcs during clcli 158-minute circuit of the globc. This
problcm wiis solvd thc nest yeiir by the Synconis, whose
 9.
Possibilities,
andDreums
70 ground-based plants “As a nonpolluting l i t l e s s soucce of
energy,” the repon sai& “SpaCe-bQsed solar power stations
could lead to a system capable of producing much of the
United States’ power requirements early in the 2 1 ~ rcentury,
and in the very long term could conceivably devAop into the
world’s primary source of electric power.”
The Government’s position is more cautious. “It is too early
to make a commitment to the development of a satellite
solar-power station or space manufacnuing facility, due to the
uncertainty of the technology and economic cat-benefits and
environmental concerns,” a White House statement said in
1978, then continued: “There are, however, very useful inter-
mediate step that wilt allow the development and testing of
key technologies and experience in space industria! operations
to be gained. The United States will pursue an evolutionary
program that is directed toward assessing new options. ...’*
Aerospace company officials, understandably, see grander
visions. One said his firm has identitied 150 opportunities for
profit-making space industrialization, including thirty-five for
space manufacturing of new or improved products ranging
from pharmaceuticals to high-strength permanent magnets.
He envimges extremely large multibeam antennas in space
making possible pocket telephones and also electronic tele-
commuting: “Rather than driving rn work each day, the
workers would operate from their homes or from a small
satellite office where they could interact elecmnically with
people and machinery in a central office building in a nearby
city or in one located many hundreds of miles away. This . . .
would help solve our energy problems and improve efficiency.
It would also allow a life-style whereby people could live,
work, and play in small communities, but still perform jobs
that are essentially urbin.”
He cited a study which estimated that industrial uses of
space could create 100 000 new direct jobs by the mid-1980s
and nearly two million by the year 2010. Through the multi-
plier effects, the study forecast, this could lead to two or three
times as many total jobs and an increase of hundreds of bil-
lions of dollars in the gross national product.
Others dream of space tourism: a NASA consultant sees n
100-room hotel by the year 2000 with rates-presumably not
for the average family vacation-starting at $5000 for the
round trip and R few days in orbit. And of permanent settle-
ments in space. In an exercise in realistic imagining, i~group
72 ycm the most significant accomplishment yet: true Earth-
independent, self-support systems which will lead to the estab-
lishment of a multitude of new, different, and enterprising
civilizations.”
And John Disher, in his article on NASA’s own advanced
studies: “No one can foretell when we may have permanent
settlements of people in space or large-scale use of resources
from the Moon or asteroids for space construction. The bene-
fits, coscs, and risks of such undertakings remain to be estab-
lished. Fortunately, however, the nearer-term developments
dixvssed here will proceed on their own merits and constitute
necessary developmental steps toward the longer-term possi-
bilities. . ..”
Possibilities . . .?
Dreams. . .?
Or goals?
Time will tell. Decades from now some of these ideas m ~ y
seem innocently unrealistic, based on ignorance of hard real-
ity. But it‘s also possible that some will seem astonishingly
timid, cautious forays by limited imaginations. (One remem-
bers those 19th Century visions of future air tr;iveI in ship
staterooms aboard sail-driven balloons.) There may be as
much chance that we will undershoot as overshoot in predict-
ing the topopphy of the future.
What we are concerned with are not solely engineering
measurements like mass and specific thrust. Fully as important
is another kind of thrtist: the questing human spirit.
 73

Material for this publication was supplied by John L.

Hammersmith, Fred R. Steven, Mary Fitzpatrick, David W.
Garrett, Shirley Keehn, Richard McCormack, Nicholas Panagakos,
and Margaret Ware,of NASA Headquarters; Robert V. Gordon
and Anthony A. Verrengia, Johnson Space Center; Amos Crisp,
Marshall Space Flight Center; and Darleen Hunt, Kennedy Space
Center. The reproductions on pages 20 and 28 are taken from
paintings by Arthur Shilstone.

Howard Allaway is a journalist living in Canton, Mass He has

worked for the Associated Prss, PM, the New YorR Times,
Pop& Sciettce Monthly, Cozsurner Reports, and NASA, where
he served for more than a dozen years before his retirement In
1976, receiving an Excepti0.d Service Medal for his part in the
Apollo Program. A previow NASA publication of his was
eHowton, We've Got a Probletn," an account of the Apollo 13
incident.

The painting on pages 42 and 43, which in full size measures

4344 in. by 80% in., was made by Barton Storey. It presmtly
hangs in the Administrator's office in NASA Headquartem An
modified form it also appears in a 29411. by 40-in. wall chart
prepared by the NASA Public Affairs Division, and is d e d for
sale by the Superintendent of Documents, US.Government Print-
ing OffiLe, Washington, D.C. 20402. Price is $1.60 and stock
number is 033.n00-00743-4.
?4

Index
Advanced Lendsat 61 Eanh resources survey satellices 13.59
airbck 5.53 Landsat 12, 15, 18
American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics Earth-to-orbit cargo carriers 29
(AIAA) 69 economics 22,25
American Rocket Society 29 EdwardsAirFoxeBase 47
Ames Research Center 7 1 ejection springs 4
angle of attack 6.7.32 electronic mail 65,66
Atlas-Centaur 21 emergency landings 8.55
costs 22 engines 45
attitude-control dvusters 6 Enterprise 12,30,47
automated beam builder 66,67 European Space Agency 8.18.57
F ~ p e a Space
n Research Organization (ESRO) 30
Cabin module 51 External Tank 1,33,35,36,38-39,45,46,47,55
environmental-conuol equipment 53 dimensions/specifications 38
flight deck 43.5 1.52 extravehicular activity (EVA) 54
duty stations 5 1.5 3
mission 52 flight,aborted 54
payload 52 fly. by-wite c ~ n t t o l 52
payload handling 5 1 freight rates 2 1,23
rendezvous and docking 5 1 Frosch,AobertA. 24
living area 53, 55 fuelcells 47
galley 53
lower deck 53 geosynchronous orbit 4, 13,61,62,63,67,68
“vertical sleep station” 53 geosynchi mous satellites 12,63
washroom 53 Syncoms 12
cargobay 4.48 weather satellites 13
commander 4,6,5 1 global information system 25
communication blackout 7,62 Goddard Space Fli8hr Center 48,63
-
communications satellites 4, 1 I 12, 18
Intelsat system 12 Head-End Steering 29
Syncoms 11 12-
Telstar I 11 igloo 59
Inertial Upper Stage 62
Day, LeRoy E. 22 Intelsat system 12
Delta 21
m!m 22 Jet Propulsion Laboratory 48.63
Dishet, John H. 68.72 Johnson Space Center 1,48,62
Donlan, Charles J. 32
Dynasoar 29 Kennedy Space Center I, 8.35, 39, 63

Earth resources monitoring 13- 1 5, 26 Landsat 12,15,18

 f5

lauachvehicles 21 design 32
Aclas-centaur 21 dimensidspecifications 4 1-42
b7ta 21 electricalsystem 43
SnNmv 1 elevon 43
Tiain 21 engines 45
lee,ChesterM. 24 dimensiodspecificatim 45
Long Duration Exposure Facility 5,8,48 orbital maneuvering 3,6,38, 43.46
~uaarlandscape 17 primarv 46
!uaarmining 69 reaction control thrusters 43,46
vernier 47
Matkin,MyronS. 6 insulation 42
maneuwring engines 3,6,46 internalpower 47
manipulauu 8 ~ 14,5,48-49,57 eiectcicity 47
manned maneuvering unit 54 fuelcells 47,48
Marshall Space Flight Center 45 hydraulic power 47
mechanical arm 48-49 landing gear 0,43
"end &ectoc" 49 lifd 3
meteorological satellites 13, 15 main sections 41
Mission Control Center 62 nosegear 43
Ilaisshn specialist 4,5,51,52 propellants 8, 35.45.46
monomethyi hydrazine 4 5 4 7 diam 43
Mueller, George E. 3 1 solarpanels 5
m u i t i i comrmnications satellite 66 speedbrakes 8,43
Multimission Modular Spacecraft (MMS ) 60-6i sunshields 5
Multimission Satellite 49 tanks 43
tiles 42,46
NASA Deep Space Network 63 windows 39
National Resedrch Cottncil of Canada 49 Orbiter configurations 32
Nimbus 13 fueltanks 32
nitrogen tetroxide 46 heat shielding 32
nozzles 3S Orbiter main engines i5-36,43,45
Orbicer Proceskng Facility 63
Office of Space Transportation Systems 57 Orbiting Astronomical Observations ?2
orbital velocity 3,6
Orbiter 1,2,3, S,6,7,27, 54, 59. 7 Payloads 21-24
airframe 41 standby 23
antennes 5,67 payload manipulating arm 4,5,43,48-49,57
body Hap 43 Payload Operations Control Center 63
cargobay 4.48 payload specialist 4,5 1,60
controls 52 piggyback flight 23
crew niodule 41 pilot 4,5,6,51
76

Fresident’s Science Advisory Committee 3 I U.S. Air Force 62

propellant composition 5 -1 utilities modulc. 65

remote sensing 26 Viindcnbcrg Air 1:orc.c Base ! 5 , .W. 6.;

runway 7,9 Vehic-le Assembly h i d i n g S, 6-5
von Brilun. Wernher 23
Saturn V 1
Skylab 13, 17, 18 weather .ervation !2
1:

solar cells 65,66,69 weather s;itellites 11-I .i

solar electric propulsion 66 wrist telephone 65, 66
solar power stations 66.69, ? 1
Solid Rocket Booster 1, 3,33-37,45 X-15 30
liquid vs. solid fuel 3.3
space colonies 70-7 1 Yardley, John F. 57
space corn,ir:mications I2
space industrialization 69
Spacelab 8,48,5 3, 57-60,65
laboratory module 58
segments 58
core 58
experiment 58
pallet 59, 60
space mapping 17
cpace power 69
space rescue 23
space structures 26
spice telescope 4,5
spiice tourism 70
Spiice Transportation System 18, 2 I , 23, 24, 62
Spinning Solid Upper Stage 6 1
Stanford University 7 I
Syncoms 1 1 - 12

teJcqxr.tnx 67
Telstir I I I
Titan 21
Tracking and Diitil Keliiy SatelJitcs 62, 6.3

uppcr stages 4 , 6 I
Inerrid Upper Stage 62
Spinning Solid Upper Stage 6 I