NASA Facts NASA's Orbiter Fleet 2007

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N A

S A f a c

t s

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA's Orbiter Fleet

Discovery

Endeavour

Atlantis



The orbiter Discovery touches down Aug. 22, 2001, at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility to conclude the

12-day STS-105 mission to the International Space Station. The mission was Discovery's 30th ight.

Original Fleet

Originally, NASA's eet o working orbiters com- prised ve ships: Challenger, OV-099; Colum-

bia, OV-102; Discovery, OV-103; Atlantis, OV-104;and Endeavour, OV-105.

Challenger was lost during launch in January 1986.Columbia, the agship o the eet, was lost during ap-

proach to landing in February 2003.Te rst o NASA’s orbiter eet, Columbia was

delivered to Kennedy Space Center in March 1979.Columbia initiated the space shuttle ight programApril 12, 1981, when it lied of Pad A in the LaunchComplex 39 Area at KSC.

It proved the operational concept o a winged,reusable spaceship by completing the Orbital Flightest Program, missions SS-1 to SS-4. SS reers to

Space ransportation System.Columbia was named aer a Boston-based sloop

that operated out o Boston in 1792 and explored themouth o the Columbia River on the West Coast o North America. Te same ship was the rst American

vessel to circumnavigate the globe.Also sharing the name is the rst U.S. Navy ship

to circle the globe and the command module or theApollo 11 lunar mission.

Discovery

Discovery, the third inNASA’s eet o reusable, winged spaceships, arrived at KSC in November 1983.It was launched on its rst mission, ight 41-D, onAug. 30, 1984, and carried three communications satel-lites alo or deployment by its astronaut crew.

Other Discovery milestones include the deploy-ment o the Hubble Space elescope on mission SS-31 in April 1990, as well as the second Hubble servic-ing mission SS-82 in February 1997; the launching o the Ulysses spacecra to explore the Sun’s polar regionson mission SS-41 in October 1990; the deploymento the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite in Sep-tember 1991; and the second ight to the InternationalSpace Station on mission SS-96 in May 1999.

Discovery is named or two amous sailing ships:one sailed by Henry Hudson in 1610 and 1611 to

explore Hudson Bay in Canada, as well as search ora northwest passage between the Atlantic and PacicOceans; and the other by James Cook in the 1770s on

voyages in the South Pacic, during which he discov-ered the Hawaiian Islands.

Te British Royal Geographical Society used twoships named Discovery: one to explore the North Polein 1875 and one to explore the Antarctic in 1904.

NASA's Orbiter Fleet 2 NASA Facts



Atlantis

Te ourth orbiter, Atlantis, was delivered to Kennedy SpaceCenter in April 1985. It liedof on its maiden voyage on Oct.3, 1985, on mission 51-J, the

second dedicated Departmento Deense ight. Later mis-sions included the launch o theGalileo interplanetary probe to

Jupiter on SS-34 in October1989, and launch o the GammaRay Observatory on SS-37 inApril 1991.

Others were SS-71 andSS-74, the rst and secondMIR dockings; six SPACEHAB

missions rom March 1996 through September 1997;and six ights to the International Space Station romMay 2000 to October 2002.

Atlantis is named aer a two-masted, 460-tonketch that was operated or the Woods Hole Oceano-graphic Institute rom 1930 to 1966. Te ketch wasthe rst U.S. vessel to be used or oceanographicresearch.

Endeavour

Authorization to construct the h space shuttle was granted by Congress on Aug. 1, 1987. Endeavourrst arrived at KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility May 7,1991, atop NASA’s new shuttle carrier aircra (NASA911).

Te space agency’s newest orbiter began ightoperations in 1992. Signicant missions included therst SPACEHAB mission, SS-57, in June 1993; therst manned ight to the International Space Station,SS-88, in December 1998, carrying the Unity con-necting module; and the Shuttle Radar opography

Mission, SS-99, in February 2000.Endeavour is named aer the rst ship command-

ed by 18th century British explorer James Cook. Onits maiden voyage in 1788, Cook sailed into the SouthPacic and around ahiti to observe the passage o

Endeavour is settled into place behind the external tank and solid rocket boosters on the mobile launcher platorm in high bay 3 o the Vehicle

Assembly Building. Space Shuttle Endeavour launched on mission STS-118 on Aug. 8, 2007, carrying the S5 truss segment to the International Space

Station.


The shuttle carrier aircrat, or SCA, and its piggyback passenger Atlantis taxi down the runway ater

landing at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility. Atlantis landed at Edwards Air Force Base in Caliornia

on June 22 to end mission STS-117. It returned to Kennedy on July 3.



Columbia sits on Launch Pad 39A beore its maiden ight on STS-1, April 12, 1981.

Venus between the Earth and the Sun. During anotherleg o the journey, Cook discovered New Zealand, sur-

veyed Australia and navigated the Great Barrier Ree.A national competition in public schools produced thename o this h orbiter.

Orbiter Upgrades,Modifcations

Columbia was the rst online orbiter to undergo

the rst scheduled inspection and retrot program.Te ship was transported Aug. 10, 1991, aer itscompletion o mission SS-40, to shuttle contractorRockwell International’s Palmdale, Cali., assembly

plant, where the work was perormed.Columbia underwent approximately 50 modica-

tions, including the addition o carbon brakes and adrag chute, improved nose wheel steering, removal o development ight instrumentation and an enhance-

ment o its Termal Protection System.Te orbiter returned to KSC Feb. 9, 1992, to begin

processing or mission SS-50 in June o that year.Columbia was sent to Palmdale in 1999 or a secondround o upgrades, returning to KSC in 2001.

Te orbiters’ EDO changes allowed them to sup- port missions up to 16 days long. Te upgrades thatmade a longer stay in space possible included the EDO

pallet, which holds a set o liquid hydrogen and liquidoxygen tanks to provide additional uel or the orbiter’selectrical power generation system. In addition are aregenerating system or removing carbon dioxide romthe crew cabin atmosphere; two additional nitrogentanks or cabin air; an improved waste collection sys-tem; and additional middeck lockers or storage.

Orbiter major modication, or OMM, periods arescheduled at regular intervals to enhance saety and

perormance, inuse new technology and allow orthorough inspections o the airrame and wiring o the

vehicles. Many modications have been made to the




orbiter eet since the vehicles were rst built, including improvements to the main engines, thermal protectionsystem and propellant supply systems, and installationo a new crew escape system.

In 2002, OMMs were moved rom Palmdale toKSC. Discovery was the rst orbiter to go throughOMM at KSC.

Main engine modications included changes to thehigh-pressure turbo machinery, hydraulic actuators andmain combustion chamber.

Some o the tiles that make up the orbiter thermal protection system were replaced to make the systemlighter, stronger and more durable. Also, a ReinorcedCarbon-Carbon panel was added to the orbiter chinbetween the nose cap and the nose wheel-well door to

provide improved insulation against the searing heatexperienced during reentry into the Earth’s atmo-sphere.

Improvements to the orbiter propellant supplysystem included a redesigned, 17-inch quick-discon-nect valve between the orbiter and the external tank.Additional modications were made to the propellantsystems o the orbiter reaction control system, orbitalmaneuvering system and the auxiliary power units.

A new crew escape system was added that allowsthe space shuttle crew to bail out i the orbiter has tomake an emergency return descent and a sae runwaycannot be reached. Tis system consists o an escape

pole that can be extended rom the opened crew hatch.Te crew would then asten a lanyard hook assemblythat is a part o the pole to their parachute harnesses.Once attached to this hook, the crew would slide downthe deployed pole, away rom the orbiter. Once ree o the pole, they would parachute to saety.

wo more recent upgrades on the orbiters areinstallation o the “glass cockpit” and improved spaceshuttle main engines.

Both Discovery and Atlantis have received the newull-color, at, 11-panel multiunction electronic dis-

play subsystem. Te new system improves crew/orbiterinteraction with easy-to-read, graphic portrayals o keyight indicators like attitude, altitude and speed.

Another improvement to the space shuttle’s propulsion system is the Block II main engine congu-ration that includes a new Pratt & Whitney high-

pressure uel turbopump. Te new turbopump madeits debut ight on Atlantis in July 2001 on missionSS-104. Te Block II conguration results in a morereliable and saer engine due to increased pump robust-ness.

Te primary modications to the engine are theelimination o welds by implementing a casting processor the housing, an integral sha/disk with thin wallblades and ceramic bearings. Te unique casting makesthe pump stronger and will increase the number o ights between major overhauls.

Other signicant improvements in the shuttle’smain engines are the high-pressure liquid oxygenturbopump, the two-duct power-head, the large throatmain combustion chamber and the single-coil heatexchanger.

In response to the Columbia accident and recom-

mendations o the Columbia Accident InvestigationBoard, there were 41 modications or return to ightin 2005. Eight o these were signicant.

The "glass cockpit" provides easy-to-read, graphic portrayals o key

ight indicators like attitude, altitude and speed.


A United Space Alliance technician installs BRI-18 tile.




When built, Endeavour eatured new hardwaredesigned to improve and expand orbiter capabilities.Most o this equipment was later incorporated into theother three orbiters during out-o-service major inspec-tion and modication programs. Te upgrades include:

• a 40-oot-diameter drag chute that reduces theorbiter’s rollout distance by 1,000 to 2,000 eet.

• plumbing and electrical connections needed orExtended Duration Orbiter (EDO) modications toallow up to 28-day missions.

• updated avionics systems that include advancedgeneral purpose computers, improved inertial mea-surement units and tactical air navigation systems,enhanced master events controllers and multiplexer-demultiplexers, a solid-state star tracker and improvednose wheel steering mechanisms.

• an improved version o the auxiliary powerunits that provide power to operate the shuttle’s hy-draulic systems.

In 2003, Endeavour was taken out o the launch processing ow to go into a major modication period.Tis was the second o these modication periods per-ormed entirely at Kennedy Space Center. Endeavour's

previous modication was completed in March 1997.For the latest period, engineers and technicians

spent 900,000 hours perorming 194 modications tothe vehicle, including more than 13,000 operationsand maintenance tasks. Tese included all recommend-ed return-to-ight saety modications, bonding 2,045thermal protection system tiles and inspecting morethan 150 miles o wiring throughout Endeavour.

Rudder speed brake actuators were replaced as parto the lie-cycle maintenance procedures. Te orwardreaction control system and orbital maneuvering sys-tem pods were removed and reurbished.

Seventy-two Boeing replacement insulation, orBRI-18, tiles were installed in critical locations. TeBRI tiles, more rigid than previous tile materials,are gradually replacing tile around main landing geardoors, external tank doors and nose landing gear doors.Replacing the existing tiles with the BRI-18 tiles instrategic areas is one o the Columbia Accident Inves-tigation Board's recommendations to strengthen theorbiters.

wo o the more extensive modications includedthe addition o the multi-unctional electronic displaysystem, or "glass cockpit," and the three-string global

positioning system that improves the shuttle's landing capability.

Te new cockpit electronics provide better displays,increased capabilities, decreased weight and power con-sumption, and improved crew situational awareness.

Te three-string global positioning system willallow Endeavour to make an emergency landing at anyrunway, provided it is long enough to accept a spaceshuttle. Te previous system, ACAN, or acticalAir Navigation System, only allowed or a landing at amilitary base.

Another major modication is the station-to-shuttle power transer system. Tis al lows the Inter-national Space Station to transer power rom its solararrays to the orbiter while it is docked, thus allowing the mission to be extended up to our days i needed.Te power transer preserves the orbiter's liquid hydro-gen and oxygen supplies that are used by the three uelcells to produce electricity.

Endeavour returned to service Aug. 8, 2007, withthe launch o mission SS-118 to continue assembly o the International Space Station.

To read more about NASA's Space Shuttle Program

and other topics, go to

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/news/acts/nasa_

acts_toc.html.




Atlantis launches Oct. 7, 2002,

on mission STS-112.



Space Shuttle Endeavour launches on mission STS-118 on Aug. 8, 2007, ater a nearly three-year hiatus or

modifcations. The shuttle carried the S5 truss or installation on the International Space Station.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

John F. Kennedy Space Center

Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899

www.nasa.gov

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NASA Facts NASA's Orbiter Fleet 2007