Page 23 - Intro to Space Sciences Spacecraft Applications

10 Introduction to Space Sciences and Spacecraft Applications

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Figure 1-6. Apollo/Soyuz: The United States and Soviet spacecraft remained
docked for two days while the crews performed joint experiments.

shuttle was seen as the next step in spaceflight evolution, allowing routine
access to space. New satellite designs would take advantage of the large
payload compartment and relatively easy trip into orbit compared to con-
ventional launchers. Satellites and experiments could be deployed, ser-
viced and repaired, retrieved, and returned to earth by the shuttle. The
flight crew, which would include nonpilot scientists and technicians,
could conduct experiments and observations in a shirt-sleeve environment
or don space suits to conduct activities outside.
In its original conception, the Space Shuttle was to take off and land at
conventional runways and be completely reusable for up to 100 flights, at
least halving the cost per pound of carrying payloads into space. Howev-
er, design difficulties and budgetary constraints lead to a simpler and less
expensive configuration using solid rocket motors and an expendable
external fuel tank to boost an orbiter into space which, after its mission
was complete, would glide back to earth to land like an aircraft.
On April 12, 1981, the first space shuttle, Columbia, lifted off from
Kennedy Space Center for a completely successful two-day mission with
astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen on board. In a little under five
years, the four-ship shuttle fleet flew 24 successful missions carrying
satellites, experiments, and up to a seven-person crew into low-earth
orbit. However, the twenty-fifth mission, launched on January 28, 1986,