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New Problem Could Ground Space Shuttle Fleet
Ender writes "As if the NASA folks at KSC did not have enough problems to deal with a the moment, (see previous
/. article on the engine cracks and the following
CNN article on the repairs) a NEW problem has sufaced in the Apollo Era transporter which vehiculates the Shuttles to the launch pads (crawler). They found many cracked bearings in the cylinders that lift the shuttle and its launch platform on the transporter. After this discovery they took a look at the other crawler and it too had quite numerous cracked bearings. No word from NASA yet but these findings may further delay the next
Space Shuttle launch which is currently scheduled for NET (no earlier than) Sept 28th and by the same token slow down the assembly of the ISS.
Complete articles at SpaceFlightNow and
United Press International."
*nod* Some of this machinery is so complex that you cannot detect certain types of material failure until and unless you take it apart. Now, above and beyond the fact that you're not just going to take this stuff apart on a whim ("Hey, Frank, I'm bored. Let's go deconstruct a million dollar piece of equipment."), but rather stick to a maintainence schedule, there is the question of just how often this stuff does get checked, as in just what is the maintainence schedule?
Now, ideally, these parts will not be too terribly difficult to replace, but considering the immense price-tag on one of the shuttles, I don't see this being an easy process in terms of all the tests that will need to be done in order to satisfy the legitimate safety requirements (as well as all the wierd shit that the engineers know need to be done but isn't in the safety regs).
Kierthos
Mr. Hu is not a ninja.
And I was hoping that it was a problem with the shuttle itself. The shuttle is entirely too expensive (half a billion dollars per launch?!?!) for what we get, and it really needs to die so that we can at least get another opportunity to replace it with something more cost effective. Because as long as they can continue to operate the shuttle, they will, no matter the cost -- because it's politically easier.
Use 'slashdot stuff' in the subject line in any email you send me if you want to get past the spam filter.
I've seen those crawlers and they make a commercial jet look like a child's toy. The forces involved dwarf anything a plane has to deal with. I would be willing to bet that they were never designed to much outlive the Appolo program and the fact that they're still in use is a tribute to the brilliant engineers involved.
Now that I think about it, I wish I could see the look on the engineers' faces when someone told them that they had to design a vehicle to transport the Saturn V...5 degrees uphill.
-B
Boring story, no response, who cares, no mention in newspapers, and the fact that the floating tin can currently up there will not get any larger for a few months does not stir the soul.
Consider the alternative universe I just visited, where a similar slashdot story was just posted but with the final phrase replaced by...
Oh, and by "NASA twerps" I don't mean everyone at NASA, the vast majority of whom are fine, hardworking geniuses. I just mean the people at the top who made the bizarre space station decision. I mean, the whole purpose of the Space Shuttle (check your history books, friends) was to resupply Skylab, which was an excellent space station. Roomy, simple, and one-piece, it was launched by a Saturn V and took the place of what would, on a moon shot, have been the third stage fuel tank. Then the Space Shuttle turned out to be more complicated to build than first thought, so it didn't make it up in time to rescue the station.
So, what were the thought processes jumping around the head of the collective imbecile which is the NASA beuracracy? "Shuttle built. Shuttle must go to station. Station dead... Build new station! Brilliant! Champagne and caviar all round."
I doubt that there was much talk about whether we need a space station or not. It just seemed obvious. Arthur C put one in orbit in 2001, every science fiction book has a couple of them floating around. But
"Um. It's for studying the microgravity environment! We can grow crystals. We can observe the effects on the human body." Fair enough, But now the station budget has been cut back to the extent that the station is just good enough to keep people alive inside, as long as those people are 90% dedicated to keeping the station running to keep themselves alive. There is little time left to do the science that is supposedly the reason it's up there.
Now I'm all depressed. Screw you guys, I'm going back to the alternative universe, and post a message on the alternative slashdot about our mad neighbors in the universe next door.
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more, Or close the wall up with our American dead!
what the hell sort of word is "vehiculates"???
It amuses me that NASA has to invent fancy new words when there's perfectly good word that will do the job - "TRANSPORTS".
I guess it makes them sound important or something.
vehiculates - I bet that one isn't in the OED!
And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour Isaiah 3:5
Imagine something along the lines of a hundred-ton bulldozer with a rocket sitting on top of it.
After getting to walk around under one aftera visit a few years ago to KSC I can attest to the fact that they're massive vehicles. The treads alone tower over a grown man's head. Imagine something like Sealand on tracks (well, a little smaller). The roadbed consists of Alabama river rock several feet deep that supposedly causes less friction for the treads and gets crushed into dust as the crawler runs over it. It was pretty awkward to walk on the rocks since they're very loosely packed. All-in-all the crawler is quite a site to see up close and an amazing engineering marvel.
Anyway, it looks like the enormous weight was causing issues with early bearings even when they were designing it in the 1960's. This explains a bit about that as well.
Aren't all the problems being discovered now because of lack of funding? Durning the Clinton era, NASA was raped and thus they lack the people and the money to be looking at things like these. Come on, the crawlers are incredible pieces of machinery, unlike anything in the world. To assume that they could provide 30 years of use and not have problems is absurd.