4 ms·

How did Space Shuttle approach this problem?

by pantalaimon 3y ago

ceejayoz 3y ago
Death.
WillPostForFood 3y ago
They added this system after Challenger, seems extremely limited. https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/crew-escape-system-shuttle/nasm_A20120326000 https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/crew-escape-sy...
- fnord77 3y ago
  "The crew escape system was intended for emergency bailout use only when the orbiter was in controlled gliding flight and unable to reach a runway. " I'd take my chances and stay with the orbiter
  - base698 3y ago
    > The vehicle touches down at 214 to 226 miles per hour, back wheels first. The nose then touches down, the drag parachute is deployed, and the shuttle cruises to a stop. That's a lot of energy to bleed off.
ben_bai 3y ago
There was a estimated 1/16 failure possibility for the first couple flights. Lots of edge-cases where: If XYZ happens, you die. But we were in a hurry, so it was just part of the project.
TMWNN 3y ago
As ceejayoz said, "Death". The system WillPostForFood mentioned is indeed, as he said, extremely limited. In the very first missions with only two astronauts, the shuttle had ejection seats. They were removed when more than two people flew at a time, because a) it is not possible to add more, and b) crew ride on two decks, not one. After the loss of Challenger serious consideration was given to designing some sort of escape capsule for the entire crew, but it was decided that the weight and practicality considerations were not worth it. The bottom line is that it is impossible to design any practical means of high-speed travel that can cover all eventualities. A century of extensive experience has led to air travel being the safest way to travel on average, but there are still fatalities. Maybe once we have a century of experience with Starship and its descendants we'll be able to say the same about space travel.

4 ms·

How did Space Shuttle approach this problem?

by pantalaimon 3y ago

How did Space Shuttle approach this problem?

ceejayoz 3y ago
Death.
WillPostForFood 3y ago
They added this system after Challenger, seems extremely limited. https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/crew-escape-system-shuttle/nasm_A20120326000 https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/crew-escape-sy...
- fnord77 3y ago
  "The crew escape system was intended for emergency bailout use only when the orbiter was in controlled gliding flight and unable to reach a runway. " I'd take my chances and stay with the orbiter
  - base698 3y ago
    > The vehicle touches down at 214 to 226 miles per hour, back wheels first. The nose then touches down, the drag parachute is deployed, and the shuttle cruises to a stop. That's a lot of energy to bleed off.
ben_bai 3y ago
There was a estimated 1/16 failure possibility for the first couple flights. Lots of edge-cases where: If XYZ happens, you die. But we were in a hurry, so it was just part of the project.
TMWNN 3y ago
As ceejayoz said, "Death". The system WillPostForFood mentioned is indeed, as he said, extremely limited. In the very first missions with only two astronauts, the shuttle had ejection seats. They were removed when more than two people flew at a time, because a) it is not possible to add more, and b) crew ride on two decks, not one. After the loss of Challenger serious consideration was given to designing some sort of escape capsule for the entire crew, but it was decided that the weight and practicality considerations were not worth it. The bottom line is that it is impossible to design any practical means of high-speed travel that can cover all eventualities. A century of extensive experience has led to air travel being the safest way to travel on average, but there are still fatalities. Maybe once we have a century of experience with Starship and its descendants we'll be able to say the same about space travel.