Shuttle leading edge protection

Was there any thought given to a Boost Protective Cover type solution?
I'd think the leading edges might be covered until after the tank
and SRB's are gone, then ejected.

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David Lesher wrote:

Was there any thought given to a Boost Protective Cover type solution?
I'd think the leading edges might be covered until after the tank
and SRB's are gone, then ejected.


If you are going to keep the jettisonable wing gloves on until the ET is
jettisoned, that's virtually all the way to orbit, and they would be a
weight penalty; if you jettison them while still under power from the
SSMEs then the gloves themselves become a collision hazard with the
orbiter, like the foam did....but it is an interesting thought....

Pat

Pat Flannery wrote in
:

David Lesher wrote:

Was there any thought given to a Boost Protective Cover type solution?
I'd think the leading edges might be covered until after the tank
and SRB's are gone, then ejected.

If you are going to keep the jettisonable wing gloves on until the ET is
jettisoned, that's virtually all the way to orbit, and they would be a
weight penalty; if you jettison them while still under power from the
SSMEs then the gloves themselves become a collision hazard with the
orbiter, like the foam did....but it is an interesting thought....

Right. You have to ensure the cover jettisons when it's supposed to, and
doesn't jettison when it isn't supposed to. Cogratulations David Lesher,
you've just created two new Crit-1 failure modes for a vehicle that already
has plenty!

Now, there *are* alternatives that do make sense, such as using an
aerodynamic fairing attached to the ET to cover the RCC during ascent. Such
a fairing could be designed to separate cleanly from the orbiter along with
the rest of the ET during ET sep. It could also "pay for its own mass" by
reducing parasitic drag on the stack during ascent.

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Pat Flannery wrote:

David Lesher wrote:

Was there any thought given to a Boost Protective Cover type solution?
I'd think the leading edges might be covered until after the tank
and SRB's are gone, then ejected.

If you are going to keep the jettisonable wing gloves on until the ET is
jettisoned, that's virtually all the way to orbit, and they would be a
weight penalty; if you jettison them while still under power from the
SSMEs then the gloves themselves become a collision hazard with the
orbiter, like the foam did....but it is an interesting thought....

The bipod ramp foam came off and interacted with the turbulent airflow
between the ET and the orbiter. At some point doesn't the airflow
become negligent, i.e. past the densest part of the atmosphere?
Wouldn't anything coming off the ET after that point go straight back
and not encounter any turbulence as the stack accelerates?

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bp
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