multiple shuttles

Have there been more than one in orbit at the same time ever?
tinyurl.com/55lpaq

On Jun 26, 8:18*am, wrote:
Have there been more than one in orbit at the same time ever?
tinyurl.com/55lpaq

No. It's technically possible, although it might strain NASA's
tracking and downlink capabilities, but planning for possible rescue
missions shows it could be done if needed. There jsut hasn't been a
reason to do it so far.

Matt Bille
Sci/Tech news and comment:
http://mattbille.blogspot.com

Matt writes:

On Jun 26, 8:18*am, wrote:
Have there been more than one in orbit at the same time ever?
tinyurl.com/55lpaq

No. It's technically possible, although it might strain NASA's
tracking and downlink capabilities, but planning for possible rescue
missions shows it could be done if needed. There jsut hasn't been a
reason to do it so far.

And I imagine we all hope there's no need for that to ever change on
October's Hubble mission.

To the OP: you may or may not know they'll have 2 shuttles on the pads
at KSC for the Hubble servicing mission STS-125 in October as a
contingency in case the first orbiter (Atlantis) is irrepairably
damaged on ascent such that it couldn't safely return. Endeavor will
be the standby on pad 39B, if the wikipedia article is to believed
anyway:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-125...ngency_mission


--
Todd H.
http://toddh.net/

Todd H. wrote:
And I imagine we all hope there's no need for that to ever change on
October's Hubble mission.


Especially if whatever caused the prime orbiter to get stuck in orbit
might cause the rescue one to get stuck there also if it was launched.
That's a situation you don't want to be in.

Pat

On Thu, 26 Jun 2008 07:34:57 -0700 (PDT), Matt
wrote:

On Jun 26, 8:18*am, wrote:
Have there been more than one in orbit at the same time ever?
tinyurl.com/55lpaq

No. It's technically possible, although it might strain NASA's
tracking and downlink capabilities, but planning for possible rescue
missions shows it could be done if needed. There jsut hasn't been a
reason to do it so far.

Matt Bille
Sci/Tech news and comment:
http://mattbille.blogspot.com

If they'd known Columbia was damaged, could they have gotten a second
one up there before running out of food water or oxygen?

Can 2 shuttles dock, or would they have to spacewalk from one to the
other?

Rick wrote:

If they'd known Columbia was damaged, could they have gotten a second
one up there before running out of food water or oxygen?

That was the criticism of the flight team - if they had immediately grokked
the seriousness of the situation, and begun a theretofore never-done
process of emergency shuttle prep, and devised a way to transfer the crew
within 3 weeks or so max, the crew had some arguable chance of surviving.
I think that criticism was very unfair, but that's the nature of the
business.



Can 2 shuttles dock, or would they have to spacewalk from one to the
other?

Now that we have the OBSS to check for damage, we always have a grapple
fixture in the bay that can be grappled by another Orbiter. The crew
transfers by ferrying EVA suits. I guess a rescue orbiter in 2005 would
have had to just float nearby.

Mike Ross

Rick wrote:

If they'd known Columbia was damaged, could they have gotten a second
one up there before running out of food water or oxygen?

No. The actual limit wasn't consumables for the crew BTW, but
reactants for the fuel cells. The need to keep components in the aft
compartment and OMS pods warm makes for a heavy load. If the OMS pods
freeze, it's Game Over.

Can 2 shuttles dock, or would they have to spacewalk from one to the
other?

Spacewalk.

D.
--
Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh.

http://derekl1963.livejournal.com/

-Resolved: To be more temperate in my postings.
Oct 5th, 2004 JDL

No. The actual limit wasn't consumables for the crew BTW, but
reactants for the fuel cells. The need to keep components in the aft
compartment and OMS pods warm makes for a heavy load. If the OMS pods
freeze, it's Game Over.

RCS I could understand - you don't want to get near to a tumbling
Orbiter. But OMS in that situation? Methinks not.

Jan

On Jul 2, 6:42*am, Jan Vorbrüggen
wrote:
No. *The actual limit wasn't consumables for the crew BTW, but
reactants for the fuel cells. *The need to keep components in the aft
compartment and OMS pods warm makes for a heavy load. *If the OMS pods
freeze, it's Game Over.

RCS I could understand - you don't want to get near to a tumbling
Orbiter. But OMS in that situation? Methinks not.

Except for the FRCS, the RCS relies solely on the propellant in the
OMS pods tanks.
-Mike

wrote in message
...
Have there been more than one in orbit at the same time ever?
tinyurl.com/55lpaq

You're sick, Bratton. Even if you hide behind a real question, the
"tinyurl" bit doesn't fool anyone. You're a coward for hiding the way you
do.