Dryden readies backup plan for shuttle Discovery's return

Valley Press on ^ | Thursday, July 7, 2005 | ALLISON GATLIN

[BenLurkin]

EDWARDS AFB - Two-and-a-half years after the last space-shuttle mission ended in catastrophe, NASA again is preparing to send an orbiter and crew of seven astronauts into space. Much of the return-to-flight attention and preparations have been focused on the launch phase, during which Columbia sustained damage that ultimately led to its breaking apart upon reentry.

However, improvements have also been made to the other end of the mission - the landing and orbiter processing that follows.

Dryden Flight Research Center is also preparing to resume its role as the shuttle's primary alternate landing site, should weather or other contingencies prevent a safe landing back in Florida.

"We've had a lot of preparation over the last few months, and we're ready to go," Dryden Center director Kevin Petersen said Wednesday.

The shuttle Discovery is scheduled to launch July 13 on a planned 12-day mission, which includes a resupply visit to the International Space Station and multiple flight tests of new safety measures.

Waiting to greet the returning orbiter and astronauts, should it be needed, is a well-rehearsed landing team at Dryden and some newly improved equipment.

"We are preparing for contingency operations. We plan for worst-case scenarios," said Joe D'Agostino , manager of space shuttle support operations at Dryden.

"If the landing is normal, it's a piece of cake," he said. The challenge is anticipating and preparing for all those things that could happen to prevent a normal landing, a problem Edwards has not yet faced.

While Edwards and its lakebed runway was home to the shuttle's early flight tests and the primary landing site for its early missions, it now comes into use only when landing at the orbiters' home base at Kennedy Space Center in Florida is impossible.

Over the years, Edwards has come into play for about one landing in every five flights, D'Agostino said. The last landing at Edwards was in June 2002.

Following the Columbia accident, the landing team has addressed a few new challenges. Chief among these is new consideration for the safety of the general public on the ground beneath the shuttle's landing approach path.

When Columbia broke apart, it scattered debris 10 miles long and 50 miles wide across a swath of Texas. Amazingly, no one was injured on the ground, D'Agostino said.

Now, planners consider the population below when determining the best approach route to take to a landing site.

At the site itself, new regulations call for a zone clear of people that extends 250 feet on either side of the center of the runway and seven miles off each end. At Edwards, that zone occupies unpopulated areas of the base, including Rogers Dry Lake.

The most visible part of the landing team is the convoy, which streams out to the runway to greet the returned spacecraft, consisting of more than 40 vehicles carrying some 120 people, D'Agostino said.

New to the convoy are two units used for cooling the orbiter and its systems following the intense heat of reentry.

These are updated and more environmentally friendly versions of the "cool trailer" and "purge unit" used throughout the shuttle program to pump freon and cooled air into the orbiter.

For the astronauts, the most important member of the convoy is the crew transport vehicle, a "people-mover" like those used at airports that is capable of extending to reach the high crew door of the shuttle.

Once inside, the astronauts are given the privacy to get out of their flight gear and clean up, and to relax and regain their bearings in comfy recliners, before heading down the stairs to greet the VIPs and inspect the outside of the orbiter.

Immediate medical care is available inside the vehicle if needed before the astronauts are transported to the center's medical facility for their regular post-flight care.

"Really, the most important function is to give them a chance to relax," D'Agostino said.

After landing at Edwards, the shuttle must undergo a week or more of processing before it is mounted atop one of NASA's two modified Boeing 747 shuttle carrier aircraft for the trip back to Florida.

The key player in this task is the massive scaffold-like structure that lifts the orbiter into place. Constructed in 1976, this structure was refurbished during the down time between shuttle flights, including removal of its lead paint coating. It now stands ready to hoist the orbiter, which typically weighs about 230,000 pounds when ready for a return trip, D'Agostino said.

With new equipment and dress rehearsals under their belt, the Dryden team is set for a possible call to action later this month, including those new faces who have come to the program during the shuttle's down time.

"I'm confident we'll do the things necessary" for a successful mission, D'Agostino said.

Until the February 2003 halt to shuttle operations following the Columbia accident, the space shuttle landed at Edwards 49 times, at Florida 61 times and at White Sands, N.M., once, on the shuttle's third mission.

On a typical day, the shuttle support team at Dryden numbers about 50 people, D'Agostino said. By the time a shuttle launches, that number increases to about 200, then swells to 400 to 500 by landing day.

The team represents a variety of concerns. In addition to NASA and its shuttle contractors, the Air Force, Navy and Army are also involved.

[BenLurkin]

ping

[KevinDavis]

[King Prout]

are they still using the "green" foam that caused the damage in the first place?

[BenLurkin]

Dunno . . . but something tells me that there will never be another shuttle launch, despite these preparations.