I have a question about what happened to several ideas I heard about in the past regarding the space station.
First, I remember talk once of not releasing the external tank on the shuttle and then attaching it to the space station. It could then be modified on-orbit into a usable space. Perhaps it became too complex of an idea, weldig and whatnot. It seems a waste to not find a way to use it, I mean you spent a lot of fuel to get those raw materials up there.
Second, I remember talk that when the shuttle mission ends in 2010 they might leave an orbiter attached to the station and bring the astronauts back by capsule. The cago bay could be used as well as everything else. You'd nave a back-up comunications station, life support, etc. And, you;d have a way to evac at least 7 astronauts in case of an emergency. Are they still planning on doing this?
~Kirk
Space Station questions . . .
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Kirk
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Dick Jacobson
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The idea of keeping the external tanks in orbit has been kicked around for a long time. I remember reading something about building a giant space station from multiple tanks. My guess is that it would take a tremendous amount of labor to "remodel" them into a usable station. Easier just to snap together a bunch of components that are all pre-built on the ground, as they are doing now. Just leaving them in orbit, without a definite construction plan, is not an option since the orbits would decay and they would be falling on people's heads.
It looks like the tanks will continue to be used after the shuttle orbiter is retired. The plan is to build a giant heavy-lifter using a tank, a pair of solid boosters, and a cargo capsule on top of the tank. This would be used in the moon/mars initiative. So conceivably they might come up with a plan for using the tanks in a permanent orbital infrastructure.
Regarding using an orbiter as a rescue vehicle, I haven't heard anything about that. There was a program called X-37 that could be developed into a space station crew rescue vehicle. I haven't heard much about it lately. I believe it would take a lot of work to transform the shuttle orbiter into a viable rescue vehicle. A rescue vehicle has to be full of propellants, power supplies, and other consumables and reliable enough so it can sit at the station for months and be ready to go on a moment's notice. The extensive maintenance and check-outs that are done on the existing orbiter before it's launched would be impossible in space.
It looks like the tanks will continue to be used after the shuttle orbiter is retired. The plan is to build a giant heavy-lifter using a tank, a pair of solid boosters, and a cargo capsule on top of the tank. This would be used in the moon/mars initiative. So conceivably they might come up with a plan for using the tanks in a permanent orbital infrastructure.
Regarding using an orbiter as a rescue vehicle, I haven't heard anything about that. There was a program called X-37 that could be developed into a space station crew rescue vehicle. I haven't heard much about it lately. I believe it would take a lot of work to transform the shuttle orbiter into a viable rescue vehicle. A rescue vehicle has to be full of propellants, power supplies, and other consumables and reliable enough so it can sit at the station for months and be ready to go on a moment's notice. The extensive maintenance and check-outs that are done on the existing orbiter before it's launched would be impossible in space.