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Show SALT FLAT NEWS, APRIL 1971 (Fact Sheet) The shuttle tation system provide flood monitor smog is a space transporcan the orbiter whose upper stage and forest warnings, detect crop disease, and seek out dwindling petroleum and ore two-stag-e, fully-reusab- le desposits. Designed to take off vertically and land horizontally, the space shuttle is a launch vehicle for all payloads. It swill replace almost all existing launch vehicles for commercial, military and scientific missions by NASA, the Air Force and foreign nations. Because it is reusable 100 flights per craft shuttle can reduce h that of todays the expense of space travel to less than cost (from $1,000 to $100 per pound). The proposed shuttle transportation system has two vehicles a one-tent- booster and an orbiter. craft called orbiter piggyThe booster carries its cargo-fille- d back to the fringe of space, then drops away and lands like any jet airliner. The orbiter, with its payload, continues on its way to complete its mission, which might include the routine transportation of astronauts, supplies, and other equipment to and from earth orbit. . Space shuttles many potential uses include resupply of orbiting space stations, carrying university laboratory experiments into orbit, placing military or communications satellites into space, retrieving satellites and delivering maintenance men to satellites that need repair. .Shuttles benefits to man in the 1980s will include the accurate plotting of weather and smog patterns, detecting new oil fields, evaluating earthquake and volcano damage, estimating crop yeilds and locating wheat rust ahead of the farmer. A shuttle can be readied in two hours for a space rescue mission. Space shuttle craft will be capable of flying every two weeks with minimum maintenance, and like todays jet airliners will require minimum ground support and checkout. American Airlines is providing its knowledge and experience in jet aircraft maintenance techniques and the ground handling of crews and cargo. North American Rockwells (NR) Space Division, Downey, Calif., is one. of .two firms conducting preliminary design studies of the e reusable space shuttle. The shuttle represents a program of the same technology challenge that Apollo represented to Space Division when it was awarded early in the 1960s. Its successful execution will require a team of experts in all fields similar to that on Apollo. If the program progresses on the schedules that NASA has currently developed, the shuttle will be flying on routine missions into orbit by about 1979. two-stag- r k t i |
