Shuttle Landings Are No Small Feat | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-05.05.25

Airborne-NextGen-05.06.25

AirborneUnlimited-05.07.25

Airborne-Unlimited-05.01.25

AirborneUnlimited-05.02.25

Mon, Jun 17, 2002

Shuttle Landings Are No Small Feat

This Efforts Defines "Teamwork"

The Shuttle Landing Facility was built in 1975. It is 300 feet wide and 15,000 feet long with 1,000-foot overruns at each end. The strip runs northwest to southeast and is located about three miles northwest of the 525-foot tall Vehicle Assembly Building.
Once the orbiter is on the ground, safing operations will commence and the flight crew will prepare the vehicle for post-landing operations. The Crew Transport Vehicle (CTV) will be used to assist the crew, allowing them to leave the vehicle and remove their launch and re-entry suits easier and quicker.
The CTV and other KSC landing convoy operations have been "on-call" since the launch of Endeavour. The primary functions of the Space Shuttle recovery convoy are to provide immediate service to the orbiter after landing, assist crew egress, and prepare the orbiter for towing to the Orbiter Processing Facility about three hours following touchdown.
Convoy vehicles are stationed at the SLF's mid-point. About two hours prior to landing, convoy personnel don SCAPE suits, or Self-Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble, and communications checks are made.  A warming-up of coolant and purge equipment is conducted and nearly two-dozen convoy vehicles are positioned to move onto the runway as quickly and as safely as possible once the orbiter coasts to a stop. When the vehicle is deemed safe of all potential explosive hazards and toxic gases, the purge and coolant umbilical access vehicles move into position at the rear of the orbiter.
Following purge and coolant operations, flight crew egress preparations will begin and the CTV will be moved into position at the crew access hatch located on the orbiter's port side. A physician will board the Shuttle and conduct a brief preliminary examination of the astronauts. The crew will then make preparations to leave the vehicle.

FMI: www.jsc.nasa.gov

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Final Report: Cessna 177B

Outboard Section Of The Right Wing And The Right Flap Separated In Flight And The Airplane Impacted A Farm Field Analysis: The pilot was approaching his destination airport under i>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.08.25): Final Approach Fix

Final Approach Fix The fix from which the final approach (IFR) to an airport is executed and which identifies the beginning of the final approach segment. It is designated on Gover>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (05.08.25)

"Our choice of when to respond, how to respond and on which targets to respond is a consideration that we make every time... Netanyahu also noted that anyone attacking Israel &ldqu>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.09.25): Estimated (EST)

Estimated (EST) When used in NOTAMs “EST” is a contraction that is used by the issuing authority only when the condition is expected to return to service prior to the e>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.09.25)

Aero Linx: Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations (CAPA) The Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations (CAPA) is the world’s largest pilot trade association representing ove>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC