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Show ; By DENNIS TANNER " In the fading shadows of the llo Space Program that amatically sent men to the iv, jon and back, the National Vronatics and Space Administration Ad-ministration (NASA) is 'aking steps toward a "yferent kind of SDace trans- nation. aSA HAS combined the Vowledge of the airplane N-h that of the space ship to svlop the Space Shuttle. 'he Shuttle came as a "Suit of the ideas of costs ings, and finding a better f to put man and his space lipment into outer space, lead of making giant leaps i outer space, NASA opted the Space Shuttle for con-'"Mence. con-'"Mence. HE KEY to insure the ice program's future seemed to be to devise a way to save costs of putting satellites sa-tellites into outer space. Another factor, the tremendous tremen-dous burden of non-reusable Apollo products, paved the way for the Shuttle concept. So, for the first time in space history, along came a reusable space vehicle: the shuttle. It will be able to put satellites into orbit and build structures in space. And each individual Shuttle can go into outer space and re-enter the atmosphere up to 100 times before being retired. ROCKWELL International Space Division is the Space Shuttle's main civilian contractor. con-tractor. They maintain that the Shuttle will permit man to use space as a routine adventure, adven-ture, on short notice and at reduced prices. Thus, space will become a resource, rather than a mystery. BENEFITS have already resulted in other fields as a result of knowledge gained from the Skylab program. Zero gravity as used in the production of metals, pharmaceuticals, phar-maceuticals, semiconductors, and optical materials is one example. Ball bearings are made more perfect in zero gravity. Pharmaceuticals can be produced at a better quality, and crystals, which run everything from giant machinery to wrist watches, are now more pure and perfect. per-fect. SINCE THE Shuttle will carry various types of satellites sa-tellites into orbit, and repairing repair-ing existing ones, it will aid energy saving by building giant solar panels that can convert energy from the sun. and transmit it to the earth. NASA has projected other fields as well that will benefit from the Shuttle program findings. THEY INCLUDE production produc-tion and management of food and forestry resources, protection pro-tection of life and property, use of environment of space for scientific and commercial purposes, prediction and protection pro-tection of the environment, energy and mineral explora-, tion, transfer of information, and Earth Science. In order to make all this happen, NASA is now conducting con-ducting tests on the Space Shuttle to prove its aerodynamics. Riding piggyback pig-gyback on top of a Boeing 747, the Shuttle is now doing free flight tests. BOTH THE Space Shuttle and it's mother ship 747 are essential in conducting these test flights. The Space Shuttle itself is comparable in weight and size to a jet airliner. It most closely resembles a DC-9, with a length of 122 feet, span of 78 feet, and weight of 150,000 lbs. LANDING SPEED of the Space Shuttle is 215 miles per hour, or greater. This figure is much greater than a commercial com-mercial jet airliner, and more closely approaches that of a jet fighter aircraft. Material used in its construction cons-truction is aluminum covered 1 with reusable surface insulation. insula-tion. The heat shield is composed com-posed of reinforced carbon-carbon. carbon-carbon. This reinforced carbon-carbon and surface insulation in-sulation is used in areas where temperatures will exceed ex-ceed 2300 degrees Farenheit in atmosphere re-entry. SOME OF the current payload ideas for the Shuttle to operate with are: military satelites, to repair a rocket on Skylab that will put it into higher orbit, and placing the European Space Lab into orbit. or-bit. The Shuttle will also conduct con-duct earth resource investigations. inves-tigations. Free flights with the Boeing 747 now being conducted will prepare NASA for the next step of flying the Shuttle into space and back again. TITLE OF Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) was given to a Boeing 747 after long studies of various jet transporters. NASA finally decided the 747 would be the best for the job. The Boeing 747 has been into full scale production since 1969. Boeing has made well over 300 to serve all airlines. The plane has been termed the best handling and navigational system rated of any commercial aircraft. DIMENSIONS OF the 747 are: length, 231 feet; wing span, 195 feet; and tail height from the ground to top, 63 feet. The 747 weighs 350 tons. The particular 747 used to carry the Shuttle is a stripped down passenger model. The standard 747 can carry up to 100,000 more pounds than the weight of the Shuttle. BOEING'S 747 can carry up to 500 passengers, and its cargo area could lift up 30 Cadillac Sevilles. It can land at any airport now constructed construct-ed for jets if face lifting has taken place. Each engine can deliver 43,000 to 53,000 pounds of thrust. This figure converted to horsepower is about 500,000 hp. It has a 50,000 U.S. gallon fuel capacity, speed of 625 miles per hour at an altitude of 45,000 feet, and a range of 6,000 nautical miles. THE 747 is composed of special advance flying systems. sys-tems. Hydraulic operational features in flying with a five system backup. Each 747 navigation system can fly the plane with auto pilot to any destination. Only landing has to be handled by the pilot, and the computers tell him how to do that. AVIONICS OF the 747 can fly any course In the world without need of a navigator or for ground support. All systems on the 747 have at least three major backup systems. And each system makes a continuous self-check self-check of its operation system. ITS ENGINES have excellent ex-cellent stall recoveries, good for releasing of the Shuttle. NASA has picked a well mated-pair of air vehicles to achieve the goal with the Shuttle. EVEN UTAH has a role in the program. Thiokol Chemical Corporation is building the rocket motors for the solid rocket boosters to help push the Shuttle into outer space. Maybe the space adventures adven-tures of 2,061 and other science fiction will become a routine in our lives. A vacation vaca-tion to a space station may be more popular than going to Hawaii. It's all going to be possible thanks to the Shuttle program. |