Space Shuttle 360-degree Flight Deck View

Reaganite Republican ^ | July 25, 2011 | Reaganite Republican

[Reaganite Republican]

This is pretty cool- click on pic:

At the link above you see the actual cockpit of the US Space Shuttle Discovery- note insulation panels installed over windows for re-entry- guess they get a little warm. Last week's final mission -completing 30 years of manned Shuttle flights- was completed by the Atlantis... some facts about the craft:

The Space Shuttle was the first orbital spacecraft designed for reuse. It carried different payloads to Low Earth Orbit, provided crew rotation for the International Space Station (ISS), and performed servicing missions- the first one went up in the early days of the Reagan Administration, on April 12th, 1981.

The orbiter was capable of recovering satellites and other payloads from orbit and returning them to Earth in one piece. Each Shuttle was designed for a projected lifespan of 100 launches or ten years of operational life, although this was later extended.. The person in charge of designing the STS was Maxime Faget, who had also overseen the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo spacecraft designs.

The crucial factor in the size and shape of the Shuttle Orbiter was the requirement that it be able to accommodate the largest planned commercial and classified satellites, and have the cross-range recovery range to meet the requirement for classified USAF missions.

Atlantis is named after RV Atlantis, a two masted sailing ship that operated as the primary research vessel for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 1930 to 1966. The 460-ton ketch carried a crew of 17 and had room for 5 scientists. The former RV Atlantis is now commissioned as an oceanographic research vessel in the Argentine Naval Prefecture under the name Dr. Bernardo Houssay and finishing a lengthy period of restoration. 

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Basic Shuttle Stats

Stages:         2

Height:        184 ft 

Diameter:      28.5 ft 

Mass:              2302 tons

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More news, views, and right-wing humor at Reaganite Republican

TheLastShuttle   Wikipedia   h/t Speedunque 

[Reaganite Republican]

Much obliged, SC

[MikeD]

The shuttle Remote Manipulating System (aka RMS aka Robot Arm) was built by Canada, and is controlled from the aft section of the flight deck. I’m guessing that panel is one of the control systems for the arm, and carries the Canadian logo as a friendly reminder. Both the RMS and Dextre (the ISS arm) carry Canada logos on their structure as well.

[DejaJude]

The spacecraft launched on January 19, 2006, and will reach Pluto in July of 2015. Go New Horizons, Go!

Hi Mike, you're kinda late to the game, but I do appreciate your input (and Canada's). What is your opinion of the downgrade of Pluto to a dwarf planet in August 2006?

[DejaJude]

Oh, MikeD, I forgot to ask you about Obama’s downgrade of NASA to a Muslim outreach program. Have you ever worked with a Muslim on the space program? If you did, what did they have to contribute to the program?