Scott Lowther wrote:


Did they fix those bolt catchers?



Couldn't tell ta... that was on the ET side. I *believe* they did so,
however.


I checked, they fixed them:
http://www.dancewithshadows.com/tech...ery-launch.asp

"March 3, 2005


Space Shuttle Discovery: External tank mated to rocket boosters

NASA marked a major step in assembling Space Shuttle Discovery for its
Return to Flight mission, as workers successfully mated the redesigned
External Tank and twin Solid Rocket Boosters. The fuel tank and booster
rockets will help launch Space Shuttle Discovery. The External Tank was
lifted by a giant crane and joined to the already stacked boosters in
the 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in
Florida.

The external tank is the largest element of the Space Shuttle system,
which also includes the orbiter, main engines and rocket boosters. It
measures 27.6 feet wide and 154 feet tall. Despite the tank's size, the
aluminum skin covering it is only one eighth of an inch thick in most
areas. Yet it still withstands more than 6.5 million pounds of thrust
during liftoff and ascent. The tank is the only Shuttle component that
cannot be reused.

Following integration and final checkout of the tank with the Solid
Rocket Boosters, Discovery will join its propulsion components in the
Vehicle Assembly Building. Discovery will roll over from the Orbiter
Processing Facility later this month, marking the end of Return to
Flight processing. The orbiter will be attached to the stack in the
Vehicle Assembly Building .

The external tank will fly with several modifications. They include two
new forward bipod heaters at the forward attach fittings that connect
the tank to the orbiter. NASA and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co.
spent nearly two years modifying the tank to make it safer. During the
tank-booster mating, the left and right boosters are bolted to the tank
at both the top and tail ends. At the forward end, a vertical bolt
mechanism attaches each booster to the tank.

After the Space Shuttle Discovery launch, approximately two minutes
after lift-off, the boosters will separate from the external tank, when
pyrotechnic devices fire to break the 25-inch, 62-pound steel bolts. One
half of the bolt is caught in canister-like bolt catchers located on the
tank; the other half remains with the boosters.

Discovery will be the first flight with a modified bolt catcher. It was
upgraded from a two-piece welded design to a one-piece, machine-made
design. By eliminating the weld, the new bolt catcher is structurally
stronger than the original.

Prior to Discovery joining the stack, final closeouts on the external
tank will include attaching the new bolt catcher and electrical cable
connections. An aerodynamic fairing and the bi-pod struts, the attach
points for the nose of the orbiter to the tank, will also be installed."

God knows how many times they dodged the bullet with those things; if a
piece of urethane foam can fatally damage the TPS, I'd hate to think
what a 30 pound piece of steel would do.


I couldn't get anyone at UTC to take my idea seriously of putting GPS
guided booster rockets on the bolts, and have them, blast away after
severance... sigh...


Theoretically they are supposed to stay attached to the vehicle, and not
fall off at all- I still shake my head when they found out that they
were coming free, and the Cape radar operators finally found out what
those odd things were that were showing up on radar when the SRBs
separated. You would have thought they would have mentioned that to
someone earlier on. :-\

Pat