![]() ![]() This is where the orbiter will be "mated" with the solid rocket boosters and the external tank on its final stop before the launch pad.Īt 525 feet high and covering 8 acres, the assembly building is one of the largest buildings in the world. ![]() Once the team in the processing facility is finished checking, maintaining and refurbishing the orbiter, it is sent over to the vehicle assembly building (VAB). A couple hundred tiles are removed and replaced after each flight.Īnother thing White says people don't realize: "There's 600 panels that come on and off as part of processing the orbiter." These panels cover everything from avionics compartments to wiring, and Atlantis has more than 200 miles of wiring on board. The inspectors are looking for any nicks, gauges and other defects. "We have quality that do it with their eyes and with flashlights and 10 times magnifying glasses, if required." White says each one is inspected several times. Some of the tiles experience temperatures up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit during re-entry. Since there is less stress on the nose tires, they are usually replaced after two flights.Ītlantis has more than 20,000 small individually numbered tiles attached to its belly to shield the orbiter's body from heat. The orbiter touches down on its main landing gear tires, and then the drag chute opens before the nose tires hit the runway.īecause the runway is grooved and the tires slick, the weight of the shuttle puts tremendous stress on the main gear tires, wearing them down after one landing. The orbiter's tires are specially made and are slightly larger than the tires on a freight hauling truck. "The tires get rolled on the ground less than 10, and we replace them." "The orbiter sees an average of about 4½ million miles in each flight," according to White. There's no place to pull over up there," White said, a line he has surely used before.Īfter each flight, the orbiter's engines are removed and sent to another building to be refurbished, and the main tires are replaced. "You know, you get a short in your car, you can pull over to the side of the road. White explains that something as tiny as a washer could short out an electrical component in the shuttle. See what it takes to keep the shuttle fit to fly » Even the smallest item can become a problem in zero gravity. Anyone entering the building must also "tether," or tie eyeglasses on and tape watches to wrists to ensure that loose items are not dropped. Instead of a welcome mat, people entering the orbiter processing facility walk on a piece of sticky tape that picks up dirt and debris from the soles of their shoes. "The minute we go into zero gravity, the astronauts are now breathing it and eating it," said Terry White, a project lead for the United Space Alliance. There are workers who pass the day wiping down the steel structure with alcohol. The entry of dirt, dust and debris into the facility is a concern that goes by the acronym FOD, or foreign object debris. Watch a NASA astronaut talk about the upcoming launch » The vehicle is towed into the building, where it is surrounded by platforms that are several stories high, allowing access to all parts of the craft. This processing facility is a hangar where employees thoroughly inspect the orbiter. Atlantis' first launch was in 1985, and it has flown 29 times. In the orbiter processing facility, the team was readying the orbiter Atlantis, which is scheduled for flight after Discovery's mission to the international space station. CNN visited the facility recently to learn about shuttle maintenance and launch preparation. Wednesday, Kennedy Space Center employees have been busy keeping the shuttle fleet in tip-top condition. The orbiter is maintained in the OPF (orbiter processing facility) before it goes to the VAB (vehicle assembly building), where the ET (external tank) and SRBs (solid rocket boosters) are attached to it.Īs NASA prepares for the scheduled launch of the space shuttle Discovery about 9 p.m. ![]()
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