On 22 Sep 2003 13:31:47 -0400, Jim Kingdon wrote:

Procedures are being developed for TPS inspection from ISS on approach.
If repair were needed, Atlantis would first dock, then grapple ISS with
the RMS, then undock while still attached by the RMS, rotating to place
the appropriate part of the Orbiter in easy access to spacewalkers using
the Station robot arm.

Is the shuttle arm strong enough for this? I gather the station arm
was designed to be (at a time when HTV-style capture was being
considered rather than conventional docking).

Given that this is the plan, I suppose the answer must be "yes" or
"yes, but only in an emergency such as this" or something. But I
wasn't aware that the shuttle arm could do it.

Apparently the answer is "yes, and we'll be doing it for the forseeable
future". The loads analysis showed that the arm and its joints are capable of
performing this maneuver. Don't forget that when the shuttle first docked with
the ISS, it was along the same lines - the ISS was more massive than the
shuttle, and the shuttle grabbed onto the ISS and pulled itself in for the
docking. (At least, that's what I think happened, unless my memory is too
faulty.) So you have the arm moving the shuttle instead of the other way
around.

I'm not involved in any of this, so I have no idea what the numbers are like.


Modifications to the cameras in the Orbiter umbilical well will not be
ready for STS-114, and the astronauts will use handheld cameras to
image the ET, downlinking the images to Earth.

They would roll after ET separation? Or is there naturally a sight
line which gives them a good enough view of the ET?

The umbilical well camera operates automatically seconds after ET Sep. The crew
does a +X maneuver with the shuttle so it can traverse more of the tank, as the
camera is completely independent of the crew. Minutes later, they normally do a
pitch maneuver, which allows them to see the tank out the overhead windows.
They take photos of the tank with the cameras and telephoto lenses (specially
stowed on the flight deck for easy access) but the photos aren't developed
until after they land. Now, in addition to film cameras, the crew will use
digital cameras to get a good first-look at the tank, then downlink the
pictures once they get the laptop network set up on orbit.

I'm sure some of this is still being working out, but curious minds
want to know the current thinking.

That's the current thinking on ET photography from the shuttle.