Longest mission without resupply?

On 16 Apr 2004 13:29:28 -0700, (Rusty B)
wrote:


The longest shuttle flight was Columbia STS-80:

17-days 15-hrs 53-min 18-sec.

The shortest shuttle flight that reached orbit:

Columbia STS-2 2-days 6-hrs 13-min 12-sec.

Columbia STS-107 was the fourth longest shuttle flight
at: 15-days 22-hrs 20-min 22-sec.

Challenger STS-51L was the shortest flight at 1-min 13-sec.

While we are at it, total flight time for all five
space shuttles in 113 flights:

Atlantis 220.402 days
Challenger 72.732 days
Columbia 289.430 days
Discovery 241.954 days
Endevour 206.599 days

Total 1,031.117 days


Flight time (for successful flights) is measured from liftoff to wheel stop.



DOH! My spreadsheet had STS-9 in the wrong column, giving it to
Challenger. I've corrected it, below are the correct numbers.

These stats come first from the Kennedy Space Center
Shuttle Mission Index webpages:

http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/.../missions.html

If the data is not there then it came from the Encyclopedia
Astronautica:

http://www.astronautix.com/flights/


Here are the Space Shuttle stats for STS-1 through STS-107:


Shuttle Days In Number Miles # Flights
Orbit of Orbits Traveled

Atlantis 220.40 3,468 89,908,732 26
Challenger 62.41 995 25,803,940 10
Columbia 300.74 4,808 125,204,911 28
Discovery 241.95 3,808 98,710,673 30
Endeavour 206.60 3,259 85,072,077 19

Total 1032.10 16,338 424,700,332 113


If anyone wants a copy of the spreadsheet, let me know
and I will post it on my web page for download.

- Rusty Barton

Rusty Barton wrote:

On 16 Apr 2004 13:29:28 -0700, (Rusty B)
wrote:

If anyone wants a copy of the spreadsheet, let me know
and I will post it on my web page for download.

- Rusty Barton

Please do. Thanks in advance.
--
+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
| Dave Downing, Somerset U.K. |
+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+

On Sat, 17 Apr 2004 11:47:51 +0100, Dave Downing
wrote:


If anyone wants a copy of the spreadsheet, let me know
and I will post it on my web page for download.

- Rusty Barton

Please do. Thanks in advance.


I've uploaded the Shuttle Spreadsheet to my Redstone missile website
Links page:

http://www.geocities.com/redstone_mrbm/links.htm

Just right click on "Space Shuttle Spreadsheet" and save it.


- Rusty Barton

Rusty Barton wrote:
I've uploaded the Shuttle Spreadsheet to my Redstone missile website
Links page:

http://www.geocities.com/redstone_mrbm/links.htm

Just right click on "Space Shuttle Spreadsheet" and save it.


- Rusty Barton

Got it. Thanks again Rusty. Very comprehensive, a lot of typing for you!

--
+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
| Dave Downing, Somerset U.K. |
+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+

So, it sounds like the Shuttle data supports my supposition that the
longest stand-alone spaceflight (i.e., not docking with a station or any
other spacecraft that could extend its mission life) was Soyuz 9, at 19
days.

Doug

On Sun, 18 Apr 2004, Doug... wrote:

So, it sounds like the Shuttle data supports my supposition that the
longest stand-alone spaceflight (i.e., not docking with a station or any
other spacecraft that could extend its mission life) was Soyuz 9, at 19
days.


Soyuz 9 lasted 17 days, 16 hours, and 58 minutes. Only about 1 hour and 5
minutes longer than STS-80 Columbia.
-Mike

In article Pine.GSO.4.58.0404191235470.16334@seds,
says...


On Sun, 18 Apr 2004, Doug... wrote:

So, it sounds like the Shuttle data supports my supposition that the
longest stand-alone spaceflight (i.e., not docking with a station or any
other spacecraft that could extend its mission life) was Soyuz 9, at 19
days.


Soyuz 9 lasted 17 days, 16 hours, and 58 minutes. Only about 1 hour and 5
minutes longer than STS-80 Columbia.

OK -- kewl. I *knew* I should have looked up the exact mission length
before I posted that... but it still *is* longer.

Doug

On Mon, 19 Apr 2004, Doug... wrote:

In article Pine.GSO.4.58.0404191235470.16334@seds,
says...


On Sun, 18 Apr 2004, Doug... wrote:

So, it sounds like the Shuttle data supports my supposition that the
longest stand-alone spaceflight (i.e., not docking with a station or any
other spacecraft that could extend its mission life) was Soyuz 9, at 19
days.


Soyuz 9 lasted 17 days, 16 hours, and 58 minutes. Only about 1 hour and 5
minutes longer than STS-80 Columbia.

OK -- kewl. I *knew* I should have looked up the exact mission length
before I posted that... but it still *is* longer.


Yeah, but not by any amount that indicates some kind of innate superiority
by Soyuz over STS in that regard. I might also point out that the current
day version of the Soyuz spacecraft is not equipped for missions of that
length. As Jorge has pointed out on numerous occasions, the Soyuz
spacecraft must make it to a space station and dock, or come back
immediately before the supplies on-board run out.
-Mike

In article Pine.GSO.4.58.0404191727100.8425@seds,
says...


On Mon, 19 Apr 2004, Doug... wrote:

In article Pine.GSO.4.58.0404191235470.16334@seds,
says...


On Sun, 18 Apr 2004, Doug... wrote:

So, it sounds like the Shuttle data supports my supposition that the
longest stand-alone spaceflight (i.e., not docking with a station or any
other spacecraft that could extend its mission life) was Soyuz 9, at 19
days.


Soyuz 9 lasted 17 days, 16 hours, and 58 minutes. Only about 1 hour and 5
minutes longer than STS-80 Columbia.

OK -- kewl. I *knew* I should have looked up the exact mission length
before I posted that... but it still *is* longer.


Yeah, but not by any amount that indicates some kind of innate superiority
by Soyuz over STS in that regard. I might also point out that the current
day version of the Soyuz spacecraft is not equipped for missions of that
length. As Jorge has pointed out on numerous occasions, the Soyuz
spacecraft must make it to a space station and dock, or come back
immediately before the supplies on-board run out.

I wasn't trying to insinuate that Soyuz -- especially that early verion
of Soyuz -- was innately superior to the STS. Far from it. It was and
is more similar to the Gemini than the shuttle in terms of basic
capabilities. I just found it interesting that an early Soyuz happened
to be the craft that set the record for longest mission using only the
spacecraft in which its crew was launched.

I'm positive you *could* stretch an STS mission for somewhat longer, if
you wanted to -- fly a shuttle with a crew of three or four in its long-
duration mode, with a double Spacehab, and you could probably keep them
up and flying for a good three weeks or more. But there is no intrinsic
reason for flying a mission in a shuttle or another stand-along craft
just for the "achievement" of its duration... the station missions are a
LOT longer, we're no longer playing one-upsmanship "space firsts" kinds
of games with the Russians, and, basically, no one cares about that kind
of thing anymore.

Now, while the Soyuz ferry variations have all been less long-lived than
those first Soyuz craft, they *are* more long-lived now than they were
for a while, there. The original redesign of the Soyuz to a ferry
configuration assumed such short independent-flight lifetimes that they
didn't carry solar panels. They were dependent on a fairly small set of
batteries, so if you couldn't manage to dock with whichever Salyut you
were aiming for, you had to turn right around and come back home
immediately. The T, TM and TMA versions have somewhat longer
independent lifetimes than that, partially because the solar panels were
restored to those versions.

Doug

I have been a nasa shuttle pilot. I can tell you that the mission that you
see on cable news are not the only missions we did.

I can only say that we now have ways and means to acomplish very long
missions 'without re-supply'.

Also, it is no secret that the current 'space shuttle' can go a lot further
than simply orbit the earth. A buddy of mine travelled to orbit the moon in
the shuttle.

The journey lasted seven days plus..

"Mike Dicenso" wrote in message
news:Pine.GSO.4.58.0404191235470.16334@seds...


On Sun, 18 Apr 2004, Doug... wrote:

So, it sounds like the Shuttle data supports my supposition that the
longest stand-alone spaceflight (i.e., not docking with a station or any
other spacecraft that could extend its mission life) was Soyuz 9, at 19
days.


Soyuz 9 lasted 17 days, 16 hours, and 58 minutes. Only about 1 hour and 5
minutes longer than STS-80 Columbia.
-Mike